midnight
It was shining blue weather , with a constantly changing prospect of brown hills and far green meadows , and a continual sound of larks and curlews and falling streams . But I had no mind for the summer , and little for Hislop 's conversation , for as the fateful fifteenth of June drew near I was overweighed with the hopeless difficulties of my enterprise . I got some dinner in a humble Moffat public-house , and walked the two miles to the junction on the main line . The night express for the south was not due till near midnight , and to fill up the time I went up on the hillside and fell asleep , for the walk had tired me . I all but slept too long , and had to run to the station and catch the train with two minutes to spare . The feel of the hard third-class cushions and the smell of stale tobacco cheered me up wonderfully . At any rate , I felt now that I was getting to grips with my job .