nine o'clock
The skipper emphasised these weighty observations by expectorating decisively into the water , and walked away , leaving Christian Vellacott with a vaguely amused smile upon his face . It is just possible that Silas Lebrun , master and owner of the _ Agnes and Mary _ , was nearer the mark than he thought . An hour later , Vellacott was walking along the deserted embankment above Westminster , on the Chelsea side of the river . It was nine o'clock , for which fact Big Ben solemnly gave his word , far up in the fog . The morning was very dark , and the street lamps were still alight , while every window sent forth a gleam suggestive of early autumnal fires . Turning up his own street he increased his pace , realising suddenly that he had not been within his own doors for more than four months . Much might have happened in that time -- to change his life , perhaps .