ten minutes past nine
He found nothing that resembled the papers he had , so he thrust them into his own pocket . He now took out his watch . There was not enough light to see what time it was , and he ran his fingers over the dial , as he had done during that time of imprisonment , earlier in the evening . As nearly as he could tell it was ten minutes past nine . He could hardly believe that it was so early . With a final , `` Take it easy , '' to Arima , Orme now started down the road toward the lights of a house , a quarter of a mile ahead . He had it in mind to examine the papers , to find a clue to the name of the girl 's father .