noon
He lost consciousness . He fainted . Before he had reached the bottom he was wholly insensible . Next day it was known before noon in London that a strange and inexplicable accident had befallen Mr. Michael Trevennack C.M.G. , the well-known Admiralty official , on the moor near Ivybridge . Mr. Trevennack , it seemed , had started by the Cornish express for Falmouth , on official business ; but the line being blocked between Ivybridge and Plymouth , he had changed his plans and set out to walk , as was conjectured , by a devious path across the moor to Tavistock . Deceased knew the neighborhood well , and was an enthusiastic admirer of its tors and uplands . But fog coming on , the unfortunate gentleman , it was believed , had lost his way , and tried to shelter himself for a time behind a tall peak of rock which he used frequently to visit during his summer holidays .