six o'clock
For its inhabitants the way to Tilliedrum lay through this threatening mass of armed weavers . No words were bandied between the two forces ; the centre of the square was left open , and nearly every eye was fixed on the town-house clock . It directed operations and gave the signal to charge . The moment six o'clock struck , the upper mass broke its bonds and flung itself on the living barricade . There was a clatter of heads and sticks , a yelling and a groaning , and then the invaders , bursting through the opposing ranks , fled for Tilliedrum . Down the Tanage brae and up the Brae-head they skurried , half a hundred avenging spirits in pursuit . On the Tilliedrum fast-day I have tasted blood myself .