quarter to eleven
She is , as she has told us , somewhat deaf ; but none the less she mentioned in her evidence that she did hear something like a door slamming half an hour before the alarm was given . Half an hour before the alarm was given would be a quarter to eleven . I have no doubt that what she heard was the report of the gun , and that this was the real instant of the murder . `` If this is so , we have now to determine what Barker and Mrs. Douglas , presuming that they are not the actual murderers , could have been doing from quarter to eleven , when the sound of the shot brought them down , until quarter past eleven , when they rang the bell and summoned the servants . What were they doing , and why did they not instantly give the alarm ? That is the question which faces us , and when it has been answered we shall surely have gone some way to solve our problem . '' `` I am convinced myself , '' said I , `` that there is an understanding between those two people .