eight o'clock
She came to the railing and bent down , beaming , smiling , and kissing her hand to them , -- and a winsome smile she had , -- then , as they passed out along the walk by the old ordnance storehouse , she stood for a time looking after them . That night , just after dusk , when Mr. McLean came bounding up the front steps , intent on getting an album from his quarters , and then returning to Mrs. Miller 's , where he was spending the evening , he was surprised to find the lamp extinguished . All was darkness as he opened the front door . So , too , on the second floor there was no light in the hall , and yet he could have sworn that both lamps were burning when he went out at eight o'clock , half an hour before . In his own room , the front one , however , the very opposite was the case . He had turned the lamp low the last thing before starting , and closed the front of his standing desk , turning the key in the lock . He always did these things when leaving his quarters at night .