9 o’clock at
night
`` Let 's have a glass of sherry and a biscuit , '' I said . `` You 'll want something to steady your nerves . '' But Malcolmson , for once , for the only time since I have known him , was unwilling to sit down and talk . His train , supposing that he took the quickest route to Belfast , did not leave Euston till 8 or 9 o'clock at night ; but he felt that he must be up and doing at once . He fussed out of the club , and for some time I saw no more of him . I waited until the hall porter had cut up the slips of paper which fell from the clicking machine and pinned the bits to the notice boards . Then I read the news for myself .