about half past two in the morning
Then , as we shook hands at parting he honored me by a pressure or his thumb which Morét had taught me to understand as the very faintest kind of an interrogation . I have already mentioned it as often given by a nihilist to one whom he believes may be one with him . It was so faint and so uncertain that it might easily have been mistaken for an accident , and like the glance I permitted it to pass unnoticed . It was about half past two in the morning when I emerged from the house . The air was exhilaratingly cold , and the storm was nearly past . The clouds which had hovered over the city all the preceding day and night were still in evidence , however , so that the streets between the widely separated lamps were dark and lonely . The distance I had to go was something more than a mile , and I had traversed more than half of it and was in the act of turning a corner when directly beside me , and quite near , I saw a flash , was conscious of a loud report , and felt that I had received a sharp and telling blow on my head .