nine
o'clock
`` What a question to ask ! '' said the other , with his inscrutable smile , and , turning abruptly , walked in to the waiting Mr. Brandon . Frank finished work at five-thirty that night and left Jasper Cole and a junior clerk to the congenial task of checking the securities . At nine o'clock the clerk went home , leaving Jasper alone in the bank . Mr. Brandon , the manager , was a bachelor and occupied a flat above the bank premises . From time to time he strode in , his big pipe in the corner of his mouth . The last of these occasions was when Jasper Cole had replaced the last ledger in Mr. Minute 's private safe .