twelve o'clock
However , there was no help for it ; and the Doctor , philosophically resigning himself , and taking care to be sure that his latch-key was in his pocket , spoke a word to Mrs. Jessop , as a precaution against that worthy woman 's putting up the chain of the hall door before she went to bed , and let himself out . It was a fine night , hot as it was , with a large bright moon hardly beginning to wane , and myriads of stars . Doctor Brudenell , as good and quick a walker now as he had been twenty years before , thought lightly of the distance between his own house and that of his patient , and soon reached his destination . It was little that he could do -- in fact , he had been sent for without real need -- and it was not much after twelve o'clock when he reached the railway-arch which spans the Holloway Road . He stopped for a moment , and looked up , thinking what a black bar it seemed in the yellow moonlight , and how oddly quiet the streets were , which all day long were teeming with noisy life . Most of the shops were closed , and only a few straggling foot-passengers were to be seen . Only for a moment did he thus glance about him , taking his hat off to push the damp hair from his forehead , for his quick walk had made him warm .