seven o'clock
That figure which was my own figure , that face which was the evil counterpart of my own countenance , again rose up before me , and once more was I plunged into hopelessness . Thus matters went on until the 14th day of October , when I received your peremptory message that the story must be forthcoming the following day . Needless to tell you that it was not forthcoming ; but what I must tell you , since you do not know it , is that on the evening of the 15th day of October a strange thing happened to me , and in the narration of that incident , which I almost despair of your believing , lies my explanation of the discovery of October 16th , which has placed my position with you in peril . At half-past seven o'clock on the evening of October 15th I was sitting in my library trying to write . I was alone . My wife and children had gone away on a visit to Massachusetts for a week . I had just finished my cigar , and had taken my pen in hand , when my front - door bell rang .