five in the afternoon
Vain hope ! Number 666 saw the number of the hansom , booked it in his memory while he assisted in raising up an old gentleman who had been overturned , though not injured , in endeavouring to avoid it . During the lull -- for there are lulls in the rush of London traffic , as in the storms of nature , -- Giles transferred the number of that hansom to his note-book , thereby laying up a little treat for its driver in the shape of a little trial the next day terminating , probably , with a fine . Towards five in the afternoon the strain of all this began to tell even on the powerful frame of Giles Scott , but no symptom did he show of fatigue , and so much reserve force did he possess that it is probable he would have exhibited as calm and unwearied a front if he had remained on duty for eighteen hours instead of eight . About that hour , also , there came an unusual glut to the traffic , in the form of a troop of the horse-guards . These magnificent creatures , resplendent in glittering steel , white plumes , and black boots , were passing westward . Giles stood in front of the arrested stream .