midnight
Then it was , with the lieutenant temporarily disabled as a result of his experience , that the three boys from Brighton , who seemed somehow to have been selected by Fate as the despoilers of all the spy 's plans , put their heads together to devise a scheme of capture . `` We 've got more than one good reason for wanting to get this fellow , '' Slim reminded the others with considerable warmth , during the course of their deliberations . `` First and foremost , of course , is our plain duty to our country , to which he is an enemy and a traitor . `` But , in addition to that , there is that knockout that he handed to Joe , and the midnight scare he gave Jerry and me , and finally his effort to kill Lieutenant Mackinson by slow suffocation , not to mention the nerve of the fellow in coming back the way he has . '' `` Yes , '' added Jerry , `` we owe him a lot , and it is up to us to figure out how we can square the debt . '' `` Well , '' said Joe , `` I think I 've got a plan that will work ; but we 've got to remember that we are dealing with a very shrewd man . '' `` Well , what 's your suggestion ? ''