Twelve o'clock
That distant clock cleaved the silence of the night with twelve ponderous strokes . Then the chimes played a pretty jingling little tune that rang out clearly in the still , rain-washed air . I stood petrified and reflected on my next move . Twelve o'clock ! I had eight hours ' grace before Stelze , the man of mystery and might , arrived to unmask me and hand me over to the tender mercies of Madame and of Karl . Before eight o'clock arrived I must -- so I summed up my position -- be clear of the hotel and in the train for the German frontier -- if I could get a train -- else I must be out of Rotterdam , by that hour . But I must _ act _ and act without delay .