eight o’clock to twelve
`` Officer McCloud 's story , told to a Chronicle reporter this morning , is as follows : The occupants of the house had been uneasy all day . From the air of subdued bustle , and from a careful inspection of the roof , made by the entire party during the afternoon , his suspicion had been aroused . Nothing unusual , however , occurred during the early part of the night . From eight o'clock to twelve , McCloud was relieved from duty , his place being taken by Michael Shane , of the Eighty-sixth Street Station . `` When McCloud came on duty at midnight , Shane reported that about eleven o'clock the searchlight of a steamer on the river , flashing over the house , had shown a man crouching on the parapet , evidently surveying the roof across , which at this point is only twelve feet distant , with a view of making his escape . One seeing Shane below , however , he had beat a retreat , but not before the officer had seen him distinctly . He was dressed in evening clothes and wore a light tan overcoat .