midnight
As he was alone in his compartment , Muller gave way to his excitement , sometimes even murmuring half-aloud the thoughts that rushed through his brain . `` Yes , I am convinced of it , but can I find the proofs ? '' the words came again and again , and in spite of the comfortable warmth in the compartment , in spite of his tired and half-frozen condition , he could not sleep . He reached the capital at midnight and took a room in a small hotel in a quiet street . When he went out next morning , the servants looked after him with suspicion , as in their opinion a man who spent most of the night pacing up and down his room must surely have a guilty conscience . Muller went to police headquarters and looked through the arrivals at the hotels on the 21st of November . The burial of Mrs. Kniepp had taken place on the 20th .