seven o'clock
He went on tiptoe across the gravel to the grass , and once on that he strode in the direction whence he had come . By the thick trunk of one of a group of aged trees he stopped to get a light , just as the Court clock struck six in loud long tones . The transaction had been carried out , through her impatience possibly , four or five minutes before the time appointed . The note contained , in a shaken hand , in which , however , the well-known characters were distinguishable , these words in pencil : ` At half-past seven o'clock . Just outside the north lodge ; do n't fail . ' This was the time she had suggested to Sol as that which would probably best suit her escape , if she could escape at all . She had changed the place from the west to the north lodge -- nothing else .