five o'clock
It was said that the structure had been there , even then looking old and dismantled , when the French began their operations on the Isthmus . This house faced the valley of the Chagres river , having its back against a hill , which was one of the steps leading up to the top of the Cordilleras . There was a great front entrance way , and many windows , but the latter seemed closed . Few signs of life were seen about the place at five o'clock that afternoon . From a front room in the second story the sounds of voices came , and now and then a door opened and closed and a footstep was heard on the stairway . However , those who walked about the place seemed either going or coming , for the house gained no added population because of the men who climbed the slope at the front and , ignoring the main entrance , passed on to the second floor by a secret staircase in the wall , entrance to which seemed easy for them to find . At the hour named three acquaintances of the reader occupied the front room on the second floor of the stone house .