seven o'clock
The girl is safe enough . '' `` Then where is she ? Tell me that , sir . Here it is , seven o'clock , dark as pitch and raining hard , and Patsy is never out after six . Can you , John Merrick , sit there like a lump o ' putty and do nothing , when your niece and my own darlin ' Patsy is lost -- or strayed or stolen ? '' `` What would you propose doing ? '' asked Uncle John , looking up with a smile .