five o'clock in the afternoon
It was Billy Rowe , an urchin of ten , who informed me of the arrival . Billy had just been let out of school , and was in the act of picking up a stone to throw at Lina Potts , whom he bitterly hated , when the Rectory carriage drove past the village green . At once every hand , including Billy 's , went promptly to the corner of its owner 's mouth , hoops were suspended in mid-career , and half-sucked lollipops , in process of transference from big sisters to little brothers were allowed an interval for getting dry . The carriage passed ; stones , hoops , and lollipops resumed their circulation , and by five o'clock in the afternoon the news of Chandrapál 's arrival was waiting for the returning labourer in every cottage in Deadborough . That night I repaired to the Nag 's Head , for I knew that the arrival would have a favourable effect on the size of the `` house . '' I am not addicted , let me say , to Tom Barter 's vile liquors ; but I have some fondness for the psychology of a village pub , and I was in hopes that the conversation in this instance would be instructive . An unusually large company was assembled , and to that extent I was not disappointed .