six o'clock
The majority of windows were , however , secured with a shutter , screwed tight from within . The man trotted steadily up the street . He had an unmistakable air of discipline . It was only six o'clock , but night had closed in three hours ago . The coast-guard looked neither to one side nor the other , but ran on at the pace of one who had run far and knows that he can not afford to lose his breath ; for his night 's work was only begun . The coast-guard station stands on the left-hand side of the street , a long , low house in a bare garden . In answer to the loud summons , a red-faced little man opened the door and let out into the night a smell of bloaters and tea -- the smell that pervades all Farlingford at six o'clock in the evening .