eleven o'clock
The monosyllable seemed to lack Elkin 's usual confidence . It sounded as if he had been making up his mind what to say , yet faltered at the last moment . Robinson ruminated darkly . As a matter of fact , long after eleven o'clock on that fateful night , he himself had seen Elkin walking homeward . He was well aware that the licensing hours were not strictly observed by the Hare and Hounds when `` commercial gentlemen '' were in residence . Closing time was ten o'clock , but the `` commercials , '' being cheery souls , became nominal hosts on such occasions , and their guests were in no hurry to depart . Robinson saw that he had probably jumped to a conclusion , an acrobatic feat of reasoning which Furneaux had specifically warned him against .