six o'clock
And so I say that had Felix continued his visits to Stephen as he should have done , he would , one December afternoon , have found the ship-chandler standing in the door , spectacles on his nose , checking off a wagon-load of manila rope which had just been discharged on his pavement , stopping only to nod to the postman who had brought him a letter . The delay in breaking the seal was due entirely to the fact that a coil of light cordage , used aboard the yachts he was accustomed to fit out , had just been reported as missing , and so the unopened letter was tossed on top a barrel of sperm-oil to await his convenience . But it was when Stephen caught sight of the small cramped writing scrawled over the cheap yellow envelope , the stamp askew , his own name and address crowded in the lower left-hand corner , that the supreme moment really arrived , for at that instant -- had Felix been there -- he would have seen Carlin slit the covering with his thumb-nail , lay aside his invoice , and drop on the first seat within reach , to steady himself . Indeed , had Felix on this same December afternoon surprised him even an hour later , say at six o'clock , which he could very well have done , for Carlin did not close his shop until seven , he would have come upon him with the same letter in his hand , his whole mind absorbed in its contents , especially the last paragraph : `` Be here at seven o'clock , sharp ; do n't ring the bell below , just rap twice and I shall know it is you . I have to be very careful who I let in . '' It had been several weeks since Carlin had heard from his sister . She had called at the store on her return from Canada , where she had spent the summer , and he had helped her find a small suite of rooms on a side street off St. Mark 's Place , which she subsequently occupied , but since then she had never crossed his threshold .