eight o'clock
`` And should I be the humble means of doing a good turn to France and others , will France -- and others -- remember it , I wonder . Perhaps I hold in my hands the Hope of France , Marquis . '' He paused , and lapsed for a moment into thought . It was eight o'clock , and the long northern twilight was fading into darkness now . The bell of Captain Clubbe 's ship rang out the hour -- a new sound in the stillness of this forgotten town . `` The Last Hope , '' added Dormer Colville , with a queer laugh . Neither had spoken again when their thoughts were turned aside from that story which Colville , instead of telling , had been called upon to hear .