about 3 A.M.
He was dressed in evening clothes and wore a light tan overcoat . `` Officer McCloud relieved Shane at midnight , and sent for a plain-clothes man from the station house . This man was stationed on the roof of the Bevington residence next door , with strict injunctions to prevent an escape from the quarantined mansion . Nothing suspicious having occurred , the man on the roof left about 3 A.M. , reporting to McCloud below that everything was quiet . At that moment , glancing skyward , one of the officers was astounded to see a long narrow board project itself from the coping of the Wildon house , waver uncertainly for a moment , and then advance stealthily toward the parapet across . When it was within a foot or two of a resting place , McCloud called sharply to the invisible refugee above , at the same time firing his revolver in the ground . `` The result was surprising .