midnight
It was in my mind to ring him up . Finally , taking all things into consideration , I determined that I would have nothing further to do with the man 's unsavoury and mysterious affairs . It was in vain , however , that I endeavoured to dismiss the matter from my mind ; and throughout the evening , which I spent at a theatre with some American friends , I found myself constantly thinking of Adderley and the ivory casket , of the mandarin of Johore Bahru , and of the mystery of the shrivelled yellow hand . I had been back in my room about half an hour , I suppose , and it was long past midnight , when I was startled by a ringing of my telephone bell . I took up the receiver , and : `` Knox ! Knox ! '' came a choking cry .