about
eleven o'clock
_ The lamp would not light . _ I pressed and pressed every button in the room , but with no better results ; and then , going through the house I tried every other button I could find , but everywhere conditions were the same . Apparently there was something the matter with the electrical service , a fact which I cursed , but not deeply , for it was a beautiful moonlight night and while of course I was disappointed in my reading , I realized that after all nothing could be pleasanter than to sit in the moonlight and smoke and quaff bumpers of champagne until the crack of doom . This I immediately proceeded to do , and kept at it pretty steadily until I should say about eleven o'clock , when I heard unmistakable signs of a large automobile coming up the drive . It chugged as far as the front-door and then stood panting like an impatient steam-engine , while the chauffeur , a person of medium height , well muffled in his automobile coat , his features concealed behind his goggles , and his mouth covered by his collar , rapped loudly on the front-door , once , then a second time . `` Who the devil can this be at this hour of the night , I wonder , '' I muttered , as I responded to the summons . If I sought the name I was not to be gratified , for the moment I opened the door I found two pistols levelled upon me , and two very determined eyes peering at me from behind the goggles .