six o'clock
The Nurse was sitting by the bed , quiet and alert ; the Detective sat in an arm-chair across the room in deep shadow . He did not move when I crossed , until I got close to him , when he said in a dull whisper : `` It is all right ; I have not been asleep ! '' An unnecessary thing to say , I thought -- it always is , unless it be untrue in spirit . When I told him that his watch was over ; that he might go to bed till I should call him at six o'clock , he seemed relieved and went with alacrity . At the door he turned and , coming back to me , said in a whisper : `` I sleep lightly and I shall have my pistols with me . I wo n't feel so heavy-headed when I get out of this mummy smell . '' He too , then , had shared my experience of drowsiness !