five
o'clock in the afternoon
Quoi ! tu nas pas l'étoile , est tu vas sur la mer ! '' DE MUSSET . Count Emile Poleski was obliged to be at the Barcelona Station at five o'clock in the afternoon one hot Friday in May . His business , having to do with that which was known to himself and his associates as `` the Cause , '' necessitated careful attention , and required the performance of certain manoeuvres in such a way that they should be unobserved by the various detectives to whom he was an object of interest . He looked round , scowling , till he found the man he wanted , and who was to all outward appearances the driver of one of the row of _ fiacres _ that waited outside the station . Cigarettes were exchanged , and a tiny slip of paper passed imperceptibly from hand to hand , then he turned ostensibly to watch the incoming train from Port-Bou .