twelve o'clock
All the rest of the morning he lay on a sofa , smoking cigars . He was ill at ease , dissatisfied with himself and with the course of events , not one of which brought him the least glimmer of truth ; in fact , all of them seemed to deepen the darkness in which he was battling . Eager to act , the moment he did so he encountered fresh obstacles that paralyzed his powers of action and left him in utter ignorance of the nature of his adversaries . But , at twelve o'clock , just as he had rung for lunch , his butler entered the study with a tray in his hand , and exclaimed , with an agitation which showed that the household was aware of Don Luis 's ambiguous position : `` Sir , it 's the Prefect of Police ! '' `` Eh ? '' said Perenna . `` Where is he ? ''