ten o'clock
` Tek care o ' yerself , my boy , ' said Mrs. Slynn . ` I do n't know what I should do without yer . ' Chippy waved his hand with an air of lofty protection , and went on with his supper . Towards ten o'clock he left the house , and went down a quiet byway to Quay Flat , and as soon as he got well on the Flat and away from the gas-lamps , he could see little or nothing . But Chippy had haunted the Flat all his life , and could find his way across it blindfold . He headed steadily forward , and a few minutes brought him to the spot where the huge bulk of the warehouse buildings stood at the river 's edge , black against the sky . He now commenced a stealthy patrol of the walks , every sense on the alert , and creeping along as softly as possible .