nine o'clock
The only man on the car he seemed to know , besides myself , was the Sleeping-Car Manager , who lifted his hat to him as he passed , and the Ring Master , with whom he stood talking at the door of his compartment . This , however , was before I had brought the Pigeon Charmer into the car . The cigarette smoked , I was again in the corridor , the bald-headed man holding the door for me to pass out first . It was now nine o'clock , and we had been under way an hour . I found the Pigeon Charmer occupying the sofa . The two young Acrobats and the Lightning Calculator were evidently in bed , and the maid , no doubt , busy preparing her mistress 's couch for the night . She smiled quite frankly when I approached , and motioned me to a seat beside her .