midnight
Bordering the beautiful domains of Burleigh House stood a little retired hostelry of some antiquity , which bore the great Lord Treasurer 's arms . With this house Dick was not altogether unacquainted . The lad who acted as ostler was known to him . It was now midnight , but a bright and beaming night . To the door of the stable then did he ride , and knocked in a peculiar manner . Reconnoitering Dick through a broken pane of glass in the lintel , and apparently satisfied with his scrutiny , the lad thrust forth a head of hair as full of straw as Mad Tom 's is represented to be upon the stage . A chuckle of welcome followed his sleepy salutation .