ten o'clock
So Merriton had forthwith to oblige them . He , too , had had enough to drink -- though drinking too heavily was not one of his vices -- and his flushed face showed the excitement that burned within him . `` Come over here by the window and see the thing for yourselves , and then you shall hear the story , '' he began enigmatically . Nigel pushed back the heavy curtain and there , in the darkness without -- it was getting on toward ten o'clock -- gleamed and danced and flickered the little flames that had so often puzzled him , and filled his soul with a strange sort of supernatural fear . Against the blackness beyond they hung like a chain of diamonds irregularly strung , flickering incessantly . Every man there , save one , and that one stood apart from the others like some giant bull who deigns not to run with the herd -- gave an involuntary exclamation . `` What a deuced pretty sight ! ''