twelve o’clock
she said , turning appealingly to Manston . ` We 'll have it all right and square , ' said Manston , with more quietness . ` I have no objection to your brother sending for a lawyer , if he wants to . ' It was getting on for twelve o'clock , but the proprietor of the hotel had not yet gone to bed on account of the mystery on the first floor , which was an occurrence unusual in the quiet family lodging . Owen looked over the banisters , and saw him standing in the hall . It struck Graye that the wisest course would be to take the landlord to a certain extent into their confidence , appeal to his honour as a gentleman , and so on , in order to acquire the information he wanted , and also to prevent the episode of the evening from becoming a public piece of news . He called the landlord up to where they stood , and told him the main facts of the story .