ten
minutes to six
But , in spite of the entertaining nature of the conversation , Jamie Wardhaugh and the others were more than usually silent . They sat in a row with their chins upon their knees and the ridiculous yellow favours streaming from their broad blue bonnets . The morning came slowly . Gib Martin , the tailor , came to his door at ten minutes to six to look out . He had hastily drawn on his trousers , and he came out to spit and see what kind of morning it was ; then he was going back to bed again . But he wished to tell the minister that he had been up before five that morning ; and , as he was an elder , he did not want to tell a whole lie . Gib glanced casually at the sky , looked west to the little turret on the kirk to see the clock , and was about to turn in again , when something black against the reddening eastern sky caught his eye .