midnight
A mist floated over the river , and it was difficult to say if the rain was still falling , indeed , or if the ample moisture upon my garments was traceable only to the fog . Sounds were muffled , lights dimmed , and the frequent hooting of sirens from the river added another touch of weirdness to the scene . Even when the peculiar duties of my friend , Paul Harley , called him away from England , the lure of this miniature Orient which I had first explored under his guidance , often called me from my chambers . In the house with the two doors in Wade Street , Limehouse , I would discard the armour of respectability , and , dressed in a manner unlikely to provoke comment in dockland , would haunt those dreary ways sometimes from midnight until close upon dawn . Yet , well as I knew the district and the strange and often dangerous creatures lurking in its many burrows , I experienced a chill partly physical and partly of apprehension to-night ; indeed , strange though it may sound , I hastened my footsteps in order the sooner to reach the low den for which I was bound -- Malay Jack 's -- a spot marked plainly on the crimes-map and which few respectable travellers would have regarded as a haven of refuge . But the chill of the adjacent river , and some quality of utter desolation which seemed to emanate from the deserted wharves and ramshackle buildings about me , were driving me thither now ; for I knew that human companionship , of a sort , and a glass of good liquor -- from a store which the Customs would have been happy to locate -- awaited me there . I might chance , too , upon Durham or Wessex , of New Scotland Yard , both good friends of mine , or even upon the Terror of Chinatown , Chief Inspector Kerry , a man for whom I had an esteem which none of his ungracious manners could diminish .