Midnight
The next morning , before he arose , Hesden Le Moyne heard the neigh of his old war-horse , and , springing from his bed , he ran out and found him hitched at his gate . A note was tied with a blue ribbon to his jetty forelock . He removed it , and read : `` I return your noble horse with many thanks for the long loan . May I hope that he will be known henceforth only as Midnight ? `` MOLLIE . '' He thought he recognized the ribbon as one which he had often seen encircling the neck of the writer , and foolishly treasured it upon his heart as a keepsake . The train bore away the teacher , and with her the wife and children who fled , not knowing their father 's fate , and the lawyer who sought an owner for an estate whose heir was too honorable to hold it wrongfully .