one o'clock in the morning
Very well , no more will I. '' He sat down also , drummed his fingers on the table , while thinking , and began in this fashion : `` On the 17th of October , 1599 , on a warm and sunny autumn day ... Do you follow me ? ... But , now that I come to think of it , is it really necessary to go back to the reign of Henry IV , and tell you all about the building of the Pont-Neuf ? No , I do n't suppose you are very well up in French history ; and I should only end by muddling you . Suffice it , then , for you to know that , last night , at one o'clock in the morning , a boatman passing under the last arch of the Pont-Neuf aforesaid , along the left bank of the river , heard something drop into the front part of his barge . The thing had been flung from the bridge and its evident destination was the bottom of the Seine . The bargee 's dog rushed forward , barking , and , when the man reached the end of his craft , he saw the animal worrying a piece of newspaper that had served to wrap up a number of objects . He took from the dog such of the contents as had not fallen into the water , went to his cabin and examined them carefully .