about four o’clock
Yet , as either Paula or Miss De Stancy would probably guess his visit to the top of the tower , there was no cause for terror , if some for alarm . He put his handkerchief through the window-slit , so that it fluttered outside , and , fixing it in its place by a large stone drawn from the loose ones around him , awaited succour as best he could . To begin this course of procedure was easy , but to abide in patience till it should produce fruit was an irksome task . As nearly as he could guess -- for his watch had been stopped by the fall -- it was now about four o'clock , and it would be scarcely possible for evening to approach without some eye or other noticing the white signal . So Somerset waited , his eyes lingering on the little world of objects around him , till they all became quite familiar . Spiders ' - webs in plenty were there , and one in particular just before him was in full use as a snare , stretching across the arch of the window , with radiating threads as its ribs . Somerset had plenty of time , and he counted their number -- fifteen .