midnight
`` When McCloud came on duty at midnight , Shane reported that about eleven o'clock the searchlight of a steamer on the river , flashing over the house , had shown a man crouching on the parapet , evidently surveying the roof across , which at this point is only twelve feet distant , with a view of making his escape . One seeing Shane below , however , he had beat a retreat , but not before the officer had seen him distinctly . He was dressed in evening clothes and wore a light tan overcoat . `` Officer McCloud relieved Shane at midnight , and sent for a plain-clothes man from the station house . This man was stationed on the roof of the Bevington residence next door , with strict injunctions to prevent an escape from the quarantined mansion . Nothing suspicious having occurred , the man on the roof left about 3 A.M. , reporting to McCloud below that everything was quiet . At that moment , glancing skyward , one of the officers was astounded to see a long narrow board project itself from the coping of the Wildon house , waver uncertainly for a moment , and then advance stealthily toward the parapet across .