noon
When the hanging over the door-way had dropped behind him , and he was alone in his little living room , he tried to think out the many wonderful things that had happened since he had sallied forth at half-past six that morning . Taking his note-book from his breast , he tore the sheaf of short-hand notes he had already made , along the perforated line , and began to compose his message for the `` Courier '' in the code that had been previously arranged . It took him an hour and a half to complete the work , as writing in code , took longer than the ordinary method . By the time he had finished , it was past noon , and he wondered at the stillness of the house . Once more he made a tour of the other part of the premises , calling the names of both the man and woman of the house . They were still absent . It was very mysterious !