about midnight
I had that vague notion of a stranger being interested in my movements which it is so impossible to define to a friend , and which one is chary of seriously discussing with oneself . Frequently , when the corner of a street was reached , I found myself involuntarily turning to look back ; and , prompted by instinct , I suppose , for there was no reason about the matter , I varied my route to and from the Uninhabited House , as much as the nature of the roads permitted . Further , I ceased to be punctual as to my hours of business , sometimes arriving at the office late , and , if Mr. Craven had anything for me to do Cityward , returning direct from thence to River Hall without touching Buckingham Street . By this time February had drawn to a close , and better weather might therefore have been expected ; instead of which , one evening as I paced westward , snow began to fall , and continued coming down till somewhere about midnight . Next morning Mrs. Stott drew my attention to certain footmarks on the walks , and beneath the library and drawing-room windows -- the footmarks , evidently , of a man whose feet were not a pair . With the keenest interest , I examined these traces of a human pursuer . Clearly the footprints had been made by only one person , and that person deformed in some way .