six
o'clock
` Could you be at the top of Chancery Lane at six o'clock ? ' With a look of mutual understanding , they parted . Joseph went home , and explained that , to his surprise , he had found an old acquaintance at the lawyer 's office , a man named Scawthorne , whom he was going to see in private before having an interview with the lawyer himself . At six o'clock the appointed meeting took place , and from Chancery Lane the pair walked to a quiet house of refreshment in the vicinity of Lincoln 's Inn Fields . On the way they exchanged a few insignificant remarks , having reference to a former intimacy and a period during which they had not come across each other . Established in a semi-private room , with a modest stimulant to aid conversation , they became more at ease ; Mr. Scawthorne allowed himself a discreet smile , and Joseph , fingering his glass , broached the matter at issue with a cautious question . ` Do you know anything of a man called Snowdon ? '