a quarter to one
But that might mean anything -- depending upon their own respective inclinations , or on what of their own peculiar brand of deviltry might be afoot . If they were still about , still in evidence , he was still too early , midnight though it was ; though , on the other hand , if the coast was clear , he could ill afford to lose a moment of the time between now and the hour that the Magpie had planned for the robbery of Henry LaSalle , for it would not be an easy matter , even once inside Spider Jack 's , to find that package -- since it was Spider 's open boast that things committed to his care were where the police , or any one else , might as well whistle and suck their thumbs as try to find them ! And then , with sudden decision , taking his hesitation , as it were , by the throat , Jimmie Dale hurried on again -- to the Sanctuary . At most , it could delay him but another fifteen minutes , and by half-past twelve , or a quarter to one at the latest , he would be at Spider Jack 's . Disdaining the secrecy of the side door on the alley , for who had a better right or was better known there than Larry the Bat , a tenant of years , he entered the tenement by the front door , scuffled up the stairs to the first landing , and let himself into his disreputable room . He locked the door behind him , lighted the choked and wheezy gas jet , in a single , sharp-flung glance assured himself that the blinds were tightly shut , and , kneeling in the far corner , threw back the oilcloth and lifted up the loose section of the flooring beneath . He reached inside , fumbling under the neatly folded clothes of Jimmie Dale , and in a moment laid his leather girdle with its kit of burglar 's tools on the floor beside him ; and beside that again an electric flashlight , a black silk mask , and -- what he had never expected to use again when , early the night before , he had , as he had believed , put it away forever -- the thin , metal insignia case of the Gray Seal .