about a quarter to two
Everything seemed right , and savagely anxious as I was to stay in town till I could find some clue to the mystery of George 's treachery , I felt also an intense eagerness to get to grips with my new invention . I was positively hungry for a little work . The utter idleness , from any intelligent point of view , of my three years in prison , had been almost the hardest part of it to bear . At about a quarter to two I left the house , and making my way down on to the embankment set off for Chelsea . It was a delightful day , warm and sunny as July ; and this , combined with the fact that I was on my way to see Tommy , lifted me into a most cheerful frame of mind . Indeed I actually caught myself whistling -- a habit which I do n't think I had indulged in since my eventful visit to Mr. Marks . I looked up at George 's house as I passed , but except for a black cat sunning herself on the top of the gatepost there was no sign of life about the place .