about ten o'clock
The door was , of course , open ; he went in and groped his way up the staircase . A knock at the door of the room which he believed to be still tenanted by Mrs. Candy and her son brought no reply . He turned the handle , but found that the door was locked . It was not late , only about ten o'clock . Stephen Candy could not , of course , be back yet from his work , and the woman was probably drinking somewhere . But he must make sure that they still lived here . Going down to the floor below , he knocked at the room occupied by the Hope family , and Mrs. Hope , opening the door a few inches , asked his business .