two o’clock
Down below , where the pathway opened into the street , he now and then saw a dark shape reel past and disappear in the night like a shadow , the soft snow deadening the footfall . These were jolly roysterers , returning from their carousal . From the steeple , some distance away , came the metallic voice of a bell striking the first hour of the new year , and Schmitz reckoned on the probability that his foe would soon wend his way homeward . But in this he deceived himself , for it was close unto two o'clock when the `` Vice '' at last turned into the lane . Schmitz could not be mistaken . His sharp eyes , by this time habituated to the dark , clearly made out the burly figure . He grasped his cane firmly in his hand , and his heart hammered in his bosom .