"Damn it! There it is! Look at it!"
Desboro looked gravely in the direction where Cairns was pointing.
"That undoubtedly is a clock," he said. "But now a far more serious problem confronts us, John. Having located a clock with a certain amount of accuracy, what is the next step to take in finding out the exact time?"
"Don't you know how to tell the time?" demanded Cairns, furious.
"Pardon. I know how to tell it, provided I once know what it is——"
"Are you drunk?"
"I have never," said Desboro, courteously, "experienced intoxication. At present I am perfectly cognisant of contemporary events now passing in my immediate vicinity——"
"Where were you to meet your wife?"
"At the depository of her multitudinous and intricate affairs of business—in other words, at her office, dear friend."