four in
the morning
After nearly two years ' ordinary experience of the responsible and ill-paid duties of that vocation , I found myself employed on my first serious and terrible case of official inquiry -- relating to nothing less than the crime of Murder . The circumstances were these : I was then attached to a station in the northern district of London -- which I beg permission not to mention more particularly . On a certain Monday in the week , I took my turn of night duty . Up to four in the morning , nothing occurred at the station-house out of the ordinary way . It was then springtime , and , between the gas and the fire , the room became rather hot . I went to the door to get a breath of fresh air -- much to the surprise of our Inspector on duty , who was constitutionally a chilly man . There was a fine rain falling ; and a nasty damp in the air sent me back to the fireside .