eight at night
Till that moment nobody had attached any importance to the presence of this camera . It had n't even been opened and examined by the police , who had carefully noted everything else in the library . But as soon as the box was missed strange questions began to be asked and conjecturally answered . The police for the first time then observed that though it was half-past eight at night when the murder occurred , and the lamp was not lighted , the witnesses who burst first into the room described all they saw as if they had seen it clearly . They spoke of things as they would be seen in a very bright light , with absolute definiteness . This set up inquiry , and the result of the inquiry was to bring out the fact , which in the excitement of the moment had escaped the notice of all the servants , that as they entered the room and stared about at the murder , the electric flash of the apparatus was actually in operation . But the scene itself had diverted their attention from the minor matter of the light that showed it .