about one o'clock
Thomas was more communicative , though far from adequate . It was about religion , he said , that Frank was talking -- about religion ... . And that was really about all that he could say of that incident . Thomas awoke about one o'clock that night , and , still with the uneasiness that he had had earlier in the evening , climbed out of bed without disturbing his wife , put on his slippers and great-coat and made his way down the attic stairs . The October moon was up , and , shining through the staircase window , showed him the door of the spare bedroom with a line of light beneath it . From beyond that door came the steady murmur of a voice ... . Now Thomas 's nerves were strong : he was a little lean kind of man , very wiry and active , nearly fifty years old , and he had lived with his master , and the mice and the snakes , and disagreeable objects in bottles , for more than sixteen years .