about six o'clock
in the evening
There was one job , the outside of a large house that stood on elevated ground overlooking the town . The men who were working there were even more than usually uncomfortable , for it was said that Rushton used to sit in his office and watch them through a telescope . Sometimes , when it was really necessary to get a job done by a certain time , they had to work late , perhaps till eight or nine o'clock . No time was allowed for tea , but some of them brought sufficient food with them in the morning to enable them to have a little about six o'clock in the evening . Others arranged for their children to bring them some tea from home . As a rule , they partook of this without stopping work : they had it on the floor beside them and ate and drank and worked at the same time -- a paint-brushful of white lead in one hand , and a piece of bread and margarine in the other . On some jobs , if the ` coddy ' happened to be a decent sort , they posted a sentry to look out for Hunter or Rushton while the others knocked off for a few minutes to snatch a mouthful of grub ; but it was not safe always to do this , for there was often some crawling sneak with an ambition to become a ` coddy ' who would not scruple to curry favour with Misery by reporting the crime .