about five o'clock
When they got inside , Crass paid for the first round of drinks , a pint of Old Six for himself ; the same for Easton , half a pint for Mrs Easton and threepenny-worth of gin for Mrs Crass . The Besotted Wretch was there , just finishing a game of hooks and rings with the Semi-drunk -- who had called round on the day after he was thrown out , to apologize for his conduct to the Old Dear , and had since then become one of the regular customers . Philpot was absent . He had been there that afternoon , so the Old Dear said , but he had gone home about five o'clock , and had not been back since . He was almost sure to look in again in the course of the evening . Although the house was not nearly so full as it would have been if times had been better , there was a large number of people there , for the ` Cricketers ' was one of the most popular houses in the town . Another thing that helped to make them busy was the fact that two other public houses in the vicinity had recently been closed up .