one o'clock
Well , we come to Derby , and the furry gent , he takes a ticket on to Hull ; and we come to Normanton , and the furry gent limps about Normanton station , and I sees him comfortable in his carriage ; and we comes to Hull , and I sees him get out on the platform , and I sees him into a fly , and I hears him give the order , ` Victorier Hotel , ' which by this time it 's nigh upon ten o'clock , and dark and windy . Well , I got up behind the fly , and rides a bit , and walks a bit , keepin ' the fly in sight until we comes to the Victorier ; and there stoops down behind , and watches my gent hobble into the hotel , in awful pain with that lame leg of his , judgin ' the faces he makes ; and he walks into the coffee-room , and I makes bold to foller him ; but there never was sech a young innercent as me , and I sees my party sittin ' warmin ' his poor lame leg , and with a carpet-bag , and railway-rug , and sechlike on the table beside him ; and presently he gets up , hobblin ' worse than ever , and goes outside , and I hears him makin ' inquiries about the best way of gettin ' on to Edinborough by train ; and I sat quiet , not more than three minutes at most , becos ' , you see , I did n't want to _ look like _ follerin ' him ; and in three minutes time , out I goes , makin ' as sure to find him in the bar as I make sure of your bein ' close beside me at this moment ; but when I went outside into the hall , and bar and sechlike , there was n't a mortal vestige of that man to be seen ; but the waiter , he tells me , as dignified and cool as yer please , that the lame gentleman has gone out by the door looking towards the water , and has only gone to have a look at the place , and get a few cigars , and will be back in ten minutes to a chop which is bein ' cooked for him . Well , I cuts out by the same door , thinkin ' my lame friend ca n't be very far ; but when I gets out on to the quay-side , there ai n't a vestige of him ; and though I cut about here , there , and everywhere , lookin ' for him , until I 'd nearly walked my legs off in less than half an hour 's time , I did n't see a sign of him , and all I could do was to go back to the Victorier , and see if he 'd gone back before me . `` Well , there was his carpet-bag and his railway-rug , just as he 'd left 'em , and there was a little table near the fire all laid out snug and comfortable ready for him ; but there was no more vestige of hisself than there was in the streets where I 'd been lookin ' for him ; and so I went out again , with the prespiration streamin ' down my face , and I walked that blessed town till over one o'clock this mornin , ' lookin ' right and left , and inquirin ' at every place where such a gent was likely to try and hide hisself , and playing up Mag 's divarsions , which if it was divarsions to Mag , was oncommon hard work to me ; and then I went back to the Victorier , and got a night 's lodgin ' ; and the first thing this mornin ' I was on my blessed legs again , and down at the quay inquirin ' about vessels , and there 's nothin ' likely to sail afore to-night , and the vessel as is expected to sail to-night is bound for Copenhagen , and do n't carry passengers ; but from the looks of her captain , I should say she 'd carry anythink , even to a churchyard full of corpuses , if she was paid to do it . '' `` Humph ! a sailing-vessel bound for Copenhagen ; and the captain 's a villanous-looking fellow , you say ? '' said the detective , in a thoughtful tone .