about five o'clock
`` It was a raw January night -- in fact , it seemed as if it had been night all day for all the chance the sun had to get out . A howling wind whistled and fairly shrieked at everything that did n't fly fast enough to suit it . Len and me had been puttin ' in a lot of time together at his house , just chinnin ' -- there was n't much else to do but to keep warm . Well , along about five o'clock , we heard a rocket ! The wind died away for a minute or so , and we dashed out to the beach to get the lay of that distress signal . Talk about big city fires ! '' he digressed .