three o’clock
`` Yes . Go by way of Barcelona . It is quickest , '' said the Englishman . `` The express leaves just after three o'clock . '' Then , after he had thanked Hugh for his timely warning , the latter walked out more than ever mystified at the attitude of The Sparrow 's accomplices . It did not seem possible that Howell should have told Scotland Yard that he was hiding at Shapley ; yet it was quite evident that both mademoiselle and her companion were equally in fear of the man Howell , whose real name was Hamilton Shaw . The theory seemed to him a thin one , for Howell was The Sparrow 's intimate friend .