five o'clock
Beyond the garden lay a small orchard fringed with elms ; and below this the slope fell so steeply down to the harbourthat the elm-tops concealed its shipping and all but the chimney-smoke of a busy little town on its farther shore . High over this smoke the rooks were trailing westward and homeward . Rosewarne heard the clank of mallets in a shipbuilding yard below . Then five o'clock struck from the church tower across the water , and the mallets ceased ; but far down by the harbour 's mouth the crew of a foreign-bound ship sang at the windlass -- Good-bye , fare-ye-well -- Good-bye , fare-ye-well ! -LSB- In the original text a short length of musical score is shown -RSB- The vessel belonged to him . He controlled most of the shipping and a good half of the harbour 's trade . As for the town at his feet , had you examined his ledgers you might fancy its smoke ascending to him as incense .