eight o'clock
I 'll see you when I come down , I hope , Mr. Hickey . '' The automatic lock clicked and the door swung open ; the grey man passing through and up the stairs . Hickey , ostentatiously ignoring the existence of the policeman , returned to his post of observation . At eight o'clock he was still there , looking bored . At eight-thirty he was still there , wearing a puzzled expression . At nine he called the adoring hall-boy , gave him a quarter with minute instructions , and saw him disappear into the hallway of Number 205 . Three minutes later the boy was back , breathless but enthusiastic .