the hour of two in the morning
It was a step upon the staircase , approaching his room . He heard it the instant he lay still in bed after the shuffling process known generally as `` cuddling down . '' And he knew that it was approaching because of the assistance the hall clock brought to his bewildered ears . For the hall clock -- a big , dignified piece of furniture with a deep note -- happened just then to strike the hour of two in the morning , and there was a considerable interval between the two notes . He first heard the step far below in the act of leaving the flagged hall for the staircase ; then the clock drowned it with its first stroke , and perhaps a dozen seconds later , when the second stroke had died away , he heard the step again , as it passed from the top of the staircase on to the polished boards of the landing . The owner of the step , meanwhile , had passed up the whole length of the staircase in the interval , and was now coming across the landing in a direct line towards his bedroom door . `` It _ is _ a step , I suppose , '' it seems he muttered to himself , as with head partially raised above the blankets he listened intently .