a few minutes before
nine o'clock
After that hour I reserve my freedom of action . '' The detective laughed . `` Good-by , '' he said , and , as though in keeping with the other fantasies of the night , Curtis was sound asleep in quarter of an hour . He had acquired the faculty of sleeping under any conditions of mental or physical stress , short of illness or severe bodily pain , and he could awake at any hour previously determined on , so , a few minutes before nine o'clock he was in his bath . At a quarter-past nine he rang for a waiter and ordered breakfast . `` For one , sir ? '' said the man , who had not been on duty the previous evening , but had taken care to ascertain the names of the guests on his section of the floor .