midnight
Hearing that this was impossible , he next sent for a magnifying-glass , and tried how the smear looked , seen that way . No skin-mark -LRB- as of a human hand -RRB- printed off on the paint . All the signs visible -- signs which told that the paint had been smeared by some loose article of somebody 's dress touching it in going by . That somebody -LRB- putting together Penelope 's evidence and Mr. Franklin 's evidence -RRB- must have been in the room , and done the mischief , between midnight and three o'clock on the Thursday morning . Having brought his investigation to this point , Sergeant Cuff discovered that such a person as Superintendent Seegrave was still left in the room , upon which he summed up the proceedings for his brother-officer 's benefit , as follows : `` This trifle of yours , Mr. Superintendent , '' says the Sergeant , pointing to the place on the door , `` has grown a little in importance since you noticed it last . At the present stage of the inquiry there are , as I take it , three discoveries to make , starting from that smear . Find out -LRB- first -RRB- whether there is any article of dress in this house with the smear of the paint on it .