eight P.M. on December
I 've been consulting the timepiece over there . '' `` No ; not even that . I 'm more and more convinced it 's a distinct lapse on my part ; but again I 'm compelled to confess incompetency . When did what happen at approximately eight P.M. on December the sixth ? '' Darley Roberts stroked his great chin with reminiscent deliberation . `` On December sixth , at eight o'clock P.M. , precisely one year ago , '' he explained minutely , `` a certain man called on a certain young woman of his acquaintance for the first time . It was , I am reliably informed , a momentous occasion for him .