About midnight
The evidence for the prosecution was , of course , mainly a repetition of that given at the inquest . Mr. Bashfield 's opening statement , however , I shall give at length , inasmuch as it summarized very clearly the whole of the case against the prisoner . `` The case that is now before the Court , '' said the counsel , `` involves a charge of wilful murder against the prisoner Alfred Draper , and the facts , in so far as they are known , are briefly these : On the night of Monday , the 27th of September , the deceased , Charles Hearn , dined with some friends on board the yacht _ Otter _ . About midnight he came ashore , and proceeded to walk towards Sundersley along the beach . As he entered St. Bridget 's Bay , a man , who appears to have been lying in wait , and who came down the Shepherd 's Path , met him , and a deadly struggle seems to have taken place . The deceased received a wound of a kind calculated to cause almost instantaneous death , and apparently fell down dead . `` And now , what was the motive of this terrible crime ?