one o'clock
O no -- there is no need for doing that -- it is all natural to me . ' And she went away without further remark . Stockdale might have waited a long time to know the real cause of her sleeplessness , had it not happened that one dark night he was sitting in his bedroom jotting down notes for a sermon , which occupied him perfunctorily for a considerable time after the other members of the household had retired . He did not get to bed till one o'clock . Before he had fallen asleep he heard a knocking at the front door , first rather timidly performed , and then louder . Nobody answered it , and the person knocked again . As the house still remained undisturbed , Stockdale got out of bed , went to his window , which overlooked the door , and opening it , asked who was there .