four
o'clock
I believe that I am right so far ? '' `` Absolutely , '' Wrayson admitted . `` Our friend Wrayson , then , '' the Colonel continued , beaming upon his neighbour , `` instead of going to bed like a sensible man , takes up a book and falls asleep in his easy-chair . He wakes up about three or four o'clock , and his attention is then attracted by the jingling of a hansom bell below . He looks out of window and sees a cab , both the driver and the occupant of which appear to be asleep . The circumstance striking him as somewhat unusual , he descends to the street and finds -- well , rather more than he expected . He finds the cabman asleep , and his fare scientifically and effectually throttled by a piece of silken cord . ''