ten o'clock
She descended , looking alarmed , uneasy -- a look which did not wear off all the rest of the evening . In leaving she wondered why Mr. Dugdale woke from his dreaminess to bid her good-night with a fatherly air , addressing her more than once by his superlative of kindness , `` My child . '' When she took her husband 's arm to go out of the lighted hall-into the night , Agatha trembled , as if something were going to happen -- she knew not what . The street was very dark , for Kingcombe people were economisers in gas ; and besides kept such primitive hours , that at ten o'clock you might walk from one end of the town to the other and not see a light in any house . There was not a soul abroad except these two , and their feet echoed loudly along the pavement . At first Agatha , blinded by coming out of light into darkness , saw nothing , but stumbled on , clinging tightly to her husband . At length she perceived whereabouts they were -- the black , quaintly-gabled houses , the market-cross , and , far above the sleepy town and its deserted streets , the bright wonderfully bright stars .