midnight
He would appear -- this more than once -- to be on the point of rising to challenge us . But these occasions were as skilfully met as they were easily detected ; and as the rogues had invariably some stroke in reserve that in a twinkling flung him back into his old state of dazed bewilderment , while it well-nigh killed us with stifled mirth , they only gave ever new point to the jest . This , to be brief , was carried on until I retired ; and probably the two strollers would have kept it up longer if the ludicrous doubt whether he was himself , which they had lodged in the Mayor 's mind , had not at last spurred him to action . An hour before midnight , feeling it rankle intolerably , I suppose , he sprang up on a sudden , dragged the door open , darted out with the air of a madman , and in a moment was lost in the darkness of the moor . When I rose in the morning , therefore , I found him gone , the strollers looking glum , and the good-wife and her girl between tears and reproaches . I could not but feel , on my part , that I had somewhat stooped in the night 's diversion ; but before I had time to reflect much on that an unexpected trait in the strollers ' conduct reconciled me to this odd experience . They proposed to leave when I did ; but a little before the start they came to me , and set before me very ingenuously that the woman of the house might suffer through our jest ; if I would help her therefore , they would subscribe two crowns so that she might have a substantial sum to offer on account of her debt .