twelve o'clock
As for the ladies , it was n't for me to quarrel with them . They were all very well dressed , and behaved themselves perfectly . I came to the conclusion that I was dealing with some rich man who had a bee in his bonnet , and , my curiosity getting the better of me , I drove away to Portman Square without as much as a word . Now , this would have been some time after twelve o'clock . It was , I think , a quarter to one when we turned into Portman Square , and he began to work the signal on the driver 's seat which tells you whether you are to go to the right or the left , slow or easy , out or home again . All sorts of contradictory orders baffling me , we drew up at last before a big house on the Oxford Street side , and this , to my astonishment , had a `` To Let '' board in the window , and another at the pillar of the front door . What was even more astonishing was the fact that this empty house -- for I saw at a glance it was that -- was just lighted up from cellar to attic , while there was as many as three furniture vans drawn up against the pavement , and sending in their contents as fast as a dozen men could carry them .