ten in the morning
His spare time he occupied by drawing circles with compass and pencil on a piece of paper . He applied himself to that pastime with great industry , with his elbows spread out and bowed low over the kitchen table . Through the open door of the parlour at the back of the shop Winnie , his sister , glanced at him from time to time with maternal vigilance . Such was the house , the household , and the business Mr Verloc left behind him on his way westward at the hour of half-past ten in the morning . It was unusually early for him ; his whole person exhaled the charm of almost dewy freshness ; he wore his blue cloth overcoat unbuttoned ; his boots were shiny ; his cheeks , freshly shaven , had a sort of gloss ; and even his heavy-lidded eyes , refreshed by a night of peaceful slumber , sent out glances of comparative alertness . Through the park railings these glances beheld men and women riding in the Row , couples cantering past harmoniously , others advancing sedately at a walk , loitering groups of three or four , solitary horsemen looking unsociable , and solitary women followed at a long distance by a groom with a cockade to his hat and a leather belt over his tight-fitting coat . Carriages went bowling by , mostly two-horse broughams , with here and there a victoria with the skin of some wild beast inside and a woman 's face and hat emerging above the folded hood .