midnight
And there , sure enough , was Tricky , down among the star-fish , safely moored to his gravestone , and the yard of good rope holding like a chain-cable . The shepherd rose for the first time since that monkey set foot upon the island and breathed freely . Then he slowly went back to the house and told the tale of the end of Tricky . It was not till midnight that Tricky came back . Of course you knew Tricky would come back . You knew the rope would slip over the stone , or break , or be eaten through by a great fish , or something , and , though none of these things happened , it is certainly true that that night at midnight Tricky did turn up . Perhaps I should say turn down , for he came in , as usual , by the chimney .