Nine o’clock
It was the striking of the church clock , distinct in the still atmosphere as if it had come from the tower hard by , which , wrapt in its solitary silentness , gave out no such sounds of life . ` One , two , three , four , five , six , seven , eight , nine . ' Stephen carefully counted the strokes , though he well knew their number beforehand . Nine o'clock . It was the hour Elfride had herself named as the most convenient for meeting him . Stephen stood at the door of the porch and listened . He could have heard the softest breathing of any person within the porch ; nobody was there .