nine o'clock
All his trouble seemed to be for nothing , and he felt that he had made a fool of himself , even when it was over , and he had changed into civilized clothing , in a room in the old town , taken by Adolphe Roslin , the detective . It was arranged for Stephen to wait there , until Roslin could give him news of Si Maïeddine 's movements , lest the Arab should be subtle enough to suspect a trick , after all . Toward evening the news came . Maïeddine had taken a ticket for Biskra , and a sleeping berth in the train which would leave at nine o'clock . Nevertheless , Roslin had a man watching Monsieur de Mora 's house , in case the buying of the ticket were a `` bluff , '' or Si Maïeddine should change his plans at the last minute . Nevill had come in , all excitement , having bought cheap `` antique '' jewellery in a shop downstairs , by way of an excuse to enter the house . He was with Stephen when Roslin arrived , and they consulted together as to what should be done next .