five o'clock
She and Sir Archie must not be cornered in stone walls , but must keep their communications open and fall on the enemy 's flank . Oh , if the police would only come in time , what a rounding-up of miscreants that day would see ! As the trees thinned on the brow of the slope and he saw the sky , he realised that the afternoon was far advanced . It must be well on for five o'clock . The wind still blew furiously , and the oaks on the fringes of the wood were whipped like saplings . Ruefully he admitted that the gale would not defeat the enemy . If the brig found a sheltered anchorage on the south side of the headland beyond the Garple , it would be easy enough for boats to make the Garple mouth , though it might be a difficult job to get out again .