three o’clock in the afternoon
He was likely , I thought , to fall into error through the over-refinement of his logic , -- his preference for a subtle and bizarre explanation when a plainer and more commonplace one lay ready to his hand . Yet , on the other hand , I had myself seen the evidence , and I had heard the reasons for his deductions . When I looked back on the long chain of curious circumstances , many of them trivial in themselves , but all tending in the same direction , I could not disguise from myself that even if Holmes 's explanation were incorrect the true theory must be equally _ outré _ and startling . At three o'clock in the afternoon there was a loud peal at the bell , an authoritative voice in the hall , and , to my surprise , no less a person than Mr. Athelney Jones was shown up to me . Very different was he , however , from the brusque and masterful professor of common sense who had taken over the case so confidently at Upper Norwood . His expression was downcast , and his bearing meek and even apologetic . `` Good-day , sir ; good-day , '' said he .