the hour
of three
A light fall of snow covered the rough fences and the bare branches , and a chilly , freezing atmosphere weighed heavily down upon the earth . There was scarcely a sound to be heard . Now and then the still measured tread of a solitary policeman , or the pitiful chirp of some homeless sparrow under the eaves of a neighboring house broke the monotonous silence of the early dawn . But suddenly another sound burst out upon the great stillness , it was the clock from the Parliament Tower striking the hour of three . The last vibrations had scarcely died out when the figures of two men , arm-in-arm , came round the corner . There is a well-known little _ on dit _ which says `` when two men walk arm-in-arm it is more than probable that one is sober , '' but it was the exception and not the rule that applied this morning . Both were seemingly under the same influence and to the same degree .