ten o'clock
This was all that passed between Mr. and Mrs. Mudge on the subject . Mr. Mudge firmly believes , to this day , that the figure which appeared to him was the spirit of Sally Baker . Delighted with the complete success of his practical joke , Ben took his way homeward with the sheet under his arm . By the time he reached his father 's house it was ten o'clock . The question for Ben to consider now was , how to get in . If his father had not fastened the front door he might steal in , and slip up stairs on tiptoe without being heard . This would be the easiest way of overcoming the difficulty , and Ben , perceiving that the light was still burning in the sitting-room , had some hopes that he would be able to adopt it .