ten o'clock
But while we were talking a rather curious incident arrested my attention . Pennington was sitting with his back to the door of the lounge , when , among those who came and went , was a rather stout foreigner of middle age , dressed quietly in black , wearing a gold pince-nez , and having the appearance of a French business man . He had entered the lounge leisurely , when , suddenly catching sight of Sylvia 's father , he drew back and made a hurried exit , apparently anxious to escape the observation of us both . So occupied was my mind with my own affairs that the occurrence completely passed from me until that same night , when , at ten o'clock , on descending the steps of White 's and proceeding to walk down St. James 's Street in the direction of home , I suddenly heard footsteps behind me , and , turning , found , to my dismay , the Frenchman from Manchester quietly walking in the same direction . This greatly mystified me . The broad-faced foreigner in gold pince-nez , evidently in ignorance that I had seen him in Manchester , must have travelled up to London by the same train as myself , and must have remained watching outside White 's for an hour or more ! Why had the stranger so suddenly become interested in me ?