the hour of ten
admitted Raikes , `` and has concluded in surrender . '' With this the strangely assorted trio left the table directly , the Sepoy to his problematical business , the spinster to escape the reprimand foreshadowed in the eyes of her brother , and Raikes to keep his treasures under malicious surveillance . All that day his diseased mind tortured itself with impossible theories and absurd speculations , until his attempts to explain the curious substitution degenerated into a perfect chaos of despair and bewilderment . With an impatience he could not explain , Raikes at last presented himself at the apartment of the Sepoy as the hour of ten was striking . He was greeted by the curious individual within with a demeanor which somehow offended Raikes with the impression that his prompt eagerness was the subject of amused calculation . His irritation , however , was not permitted to develop , for no sooner had he seated himself in the chair indicated by his host than the latter placed upon the table , within easy reach of his harassed visitor , a small box of leather and directed him to press the spring . Anticipating something of the nature of the contents of the case from the material of which it was made , Raikes , forgetting for the moment the futility of the day 's researches , pressed his bony thumb upon the spring , and at once the lid flew back like a protest , disclosing the most superb diamond it had ever been his misfortune to see and not possess .