five o’clock
Then he turned to me , tapped his forehead three times , shook his head solemnly , and hurried away . He had hardly shut the door behind him when Holmes rose to put on his overcoat . `` There is something in what the fellow says about outdoor work , '' he remarked , `` so I think , Watson , that I must leave you to your papers for a little . '' It was after five o'clock when Sherlock Holmes left me , but I had no time to be lonely , for within an hour there arrived a confectioner 's man with a very large flat box . This he unpacked with the help of a youth whom he had brought with him , and presently , to my very great astonishment , a quite epicurean little cold supper began to be laid out upon our humble lodging-house mahogany . There were a couple of brace of cold woodcock , a pheasant , a _ pâté de foie gras _ pie with a group of ancient and cobwebby bottles . Having laid out all these luxuries , my two visitors vanished away , like the genii of the Arabian Nights , with no explanation save that the things had been paid for and were ordered to this address .