an hour after
midnight
And Dick , putting it in the bosom of his jacket , gave the word and set forth westward up the village . BOOK I THE TWO LADS Sir Daniel and his men lay in and about Kettley that night , warmly quartered and well patrolled . But the Knight of Tunstall was one who never rested from money-getting ; and even now , when he was on the brink of an adventure which should make or mar him , he was up an hour after midnight to squeeze poor neighbours . He was one who trafficked greatly in disputed inheritances ; it was his way to buy out the most unlikely claimant , and then , by the favour he curried with great lords about the king , procure unjust decisions in his favour ; or , if that was too roundabout , to seize the disputed manor by force of arms , and rely on his influence and Sir Oliver 's cunning in the law to hold what he had snatched . Kettley was one such place ; it had come very lately into his clutches ; he still met with opposition from the tenants ; and it was to overawe discontent that he had led his troops that way . By two in the morning , Sir Daniel sat in the inn room , close by the fireside , for it was cold at that hour among the fens of Kettley .