four o'clock
I know no prettier picture than a procession of long-trained women , with bare shoulders , and jewels in their hair , each carrying a candle up a long stair beside the central hall . '' `` Ah ! I have no such charming reminiscences of the English aristocracy , and I am only afraid of spilling candle grease on my one decent dress . '' At four o'clock Isabel was awakened by suspicious sounds at the key-hole of the front door . She reached out for her pistol , but withdrew her hand as she heard the careless laugh of her brother-in-law . A few moments later the two explorers , after an instant 's hesitation at the head of the stair -- which they had climbed like cats -- walked past her door with a brisk swaggering preternaturally steady gait that invoked the memory of former occupants of the mansion . Then Gwynne 's door opened and shut as if by sleight of hand .