The hour of six
They carried on a promiscuous trade with America and the Colonies , and managed , by the straining of ends , to meet their expenses and show a small margin of profit . You undertake the labour of a slave in Egypt , and run the risk of a forlorn hope when you try to make a living wage in London as your own master . The price of freedom in a free country is beyond the reach of most pockets . The hour of six had rung out from the neighbouring clocks , yet this girl showed no signs of finishing her work . From down in the street you could see her bent over the machine , her fingers pounding the keys -- human hammers monotonously striving to beat out a pattern upon metal , a pattern that would never come . The light from the green-shaded lamp above her , fell obliquely on her head . It lit up her pale , golden hair like a sun-ray ; it drew out the round , gentle curve of her face and threw it up against the darkness of the room beyond .