twelve o’clock
`` I will think about it , '' said the prince dreamily , and went off . The clerk stood looking after his guest , struck by his sudden absent-mindedness . He had not even remembered to say goodbye , and Lebedeff was the more surprised at the omission , as he knew by experience how courteous the prince usually was . It was now close on twelve o'clock . The prince knew that if he called at the Epanchins ' now he would only find the general , and that the latter might probably carry him straight off to Pavlofsk with him ; whereas there was one visit he was most anxious to make without delay . So at the risk of missing General Epanchin altogether , and thus postponing his visit to Pavlofsk for a day , at least , the prince decided to go and look for the house he desired to find . The visit he was about to pay was , in some respects , a risky one .