midnight
And now this excellent weapon was missing . He felt that eyes were upon him , that ears were listening slyly to his breathing , that lips were rustling in bated whispered comments upon the fury with which he took this important loss . Snapping off the light , he plunged down the murky corridor , with the guilty rose cameo clutched in his sweating hand , and came at length to the purser 's office . This dignitary was absent , at midnight lunch probably ; so Peter rifled the upper drawer in the desk , and brought out the passenger-register , finding the name and room number he sought after an instant of search . Carefully he replaced the ledger in its original position , closed the drawer , and darted back up the corridor . In front of a room not far from his own he paused and rapped . His knock , sharp and insistent , was one of practice , a summons which would not be mistaken by the occupants of adjoining staterooms , nor was it likely to disturb them .