midnight
Nevertheless , he had felt convinced that the jury would find him guilty . There was a perfect chain of circumstantial evidence , and he , with his long experience , knew what juries were . They could only judge according to evidence . He went over the points one by one -- the years of enmity between Paul and the murdered man ; the threats he had made ; the injuries which the murdered man had persistently done to the accused ; the knife which was known to belong to Paul , and which could only have been in his possession ; the quarrel on the eve of the murder ; the fact that Paul had left his own house at midnight and had not returned till just before dawn ; Wilson found not far from his own house with Paul 's knife in his heart ; and the evidence which would be surely adduced that Paul had been seen not far from Howden Clough that same morning , acting in a most strange and distracted manner . Added to this was the fact that Wilson was respected in the town ; that he was not known to have an enemy in the world but Paul . No , no ! Unless Paul could bring evidence of the strongest nature , the jury would find him guilty .