midnight
Down at Gatherum Castle the matter had been known , or partly known , -- but the telling of it had always been to the great honour and glory of the hero . Major Pountney had almost broken his heart over it , and Captain Gunner , writing to his friend from the Curragh , had asserted his knowledge that it was all a `` got-up thing '' between the two men . The `` Breakfast Table '' and the `` Evening Pulpit '' had been loud in praise of Lopez ; but the `` People 's Banner , '' under the management of Mr. Quintus Slide , had naturally thrown much suspicion on the incident when it became known to the Editor that Ferdinand Lopez had been entertained by the Duke and Duchess of Omnium . `` We have always felt some slight doubts as to the details of the affair said to have happened about a fortnight ago , just at midnight , in St. James 's Park . We should be glad to know whether the policemen have succeeded in tracing any of the stolen property , or whether any real attempt to trace it has been made . '' This was one of the paragraphs , and it was hinted still more plainly afterwards that Everett Wharton , being short of money , had arranged the plan with the view of opening his father 's purse . But the general effect was certainly serviceable to Lopez .