two o'clock
And yet -- and yet -- it was in the hottest room of all , in a temperature of 270 ° Fahrenheit , that the bolt fell from the _ Pall Mall Gazette _ which I had bought outside the bath . I was turning over the hot , crisp pages , and positively revelling in my fiery furnace , when the following headlines and leaded paragraphs leapt to my eye with the force of a veritable blow : An audacious burglary and dastardly assault have been committed on the premises of the City and Suburban Bank in Sloane Street , W. From the details so far to hand , the robbery appears to have been deliberately planned and adroitly executed in the early hours of this morning . A night watchman named Fawcett states that between one and two o'clock he heard a slight noise in the neighborhood of the lower strong-room , used as a repository for the plate and other possessions of various customers of the bank . Going down to investigate , he was instantly attacked by a powerful ruffian , who succeeded in felling him to the ground before an alarm could be raised . Fawcett is unable to furnish any description of his assailant or assailants , but is of opinion that more than one were engaged in the commission of the crime . When the unfortunate man recovered consciousness , no trace of the thieves remained , with the exception of a single candle which had been left burning on the flags of the corridor .