the hour of eight
He realized again that Oliver being removed , what he now enjoyed by his brother 's bounty he would enjoy henceforth in his own unquestioned right . The reflection brought him a certain consolation . If he must suffer for his villainy , at least there would be compensations . The clock over the stables chimed the hour of eight . Master Lionel shrank back in his chair at the sound . The thing would be doing even now . In his mind he saw it all -- saw his brother come running in his eagerness to the gates of Godolphin Court , and then dark forms resolve themselves from the surrounding darkness and fall silently upon him .