twenty minutes to
seven
He sat down dispirited . This was all the fruit of his task -- not a single letter , date , or address of any kind to help him -- and was it likely there would be ? However , thinking he would send the fragments , such as they were , to Graye , in order to satisfy him that he had done his best so far , he scribbled a line , and put all except the silk and cotton into an envelope . Looking at his watch , he found it was then twenty minutes to seven ; by affixing an extra stamp he would be enabled to despatch them by that evening 's post . He hastily directed the packet , and ran with it at once to the post-office at Charing Cross . On his return he took up the workbox again to examine it more leisurely . He then found there was also a small cavity in the tray under the pincushion , which was movable by a bit of ribbon .