about eleven o'clock
A lesser woman might have taken the boat-train to London and proceeded to Windles at her ease on the following afternoon . Mrs. Hignett was made of sterner stuff . Having fortified herself with a late dinner , she hired a car and set out on the cross-country journey . It was only when the car , a genuine antique , had broken down three times in the first ten miles , that she directed the driver to take her instead to the `` Blue Boar '' in Windlehurst , where she arrived , tired but thankful to have reached it at all , at about eleven o'clock . At this point many , indeed most , women would have gone to bed ; but the familiar Hampshire air and the knowledge that half an hour 's walking would take her to her beloved home acted on Mrs. Hignett like a restorative . One glimpse of Windles she felt that she must have before she retired for the night , if only to assure herself that it was still there . She had a cup of coffee and a sandwich brought to her by the night-porter whom she had roused from sleep , for bedtime is early in Windlehurst , and then informed him that she was going for a short walk and would ring when she returned .