the hour of twelve
But long ere this the culprit had appeared before a tribunal which admits of no prevarication , and the pretty boy with the golden curls had become lord of Dangerfield Hall . The long corridor had been but partially destroyed . It was repaired and refurnished by successive generations ; but guests and servants alike refused to sleep again in that dreary wing after the first trial . Every night , so surely as the clock tolled out the hour of twelve , a rush of feet was heard along the passage -- a window looking into the court was thrown open -- a piercing scream from a woman 's voice rang through the building -- and those who were bold enough to look out averred that they beheld a white figure leap wildly into the air and disappear . Some even went so far as to affirm that drops of blood , freshly sprinkled , were found every morning on the pavement of the court . But no one ever doubted the Dangerfield ghost to be the nightly apparition of Lucy , Lady Horsingham . At length , in my grandfather 's time , certain boards being lifted to admit of fresh repairs in the accursed corridor , the silver-mounted guard of a rapier , the stock and barrel of a pistol , with a shred of lace , on which the letter `` L '' was yet visible , were discovered by the workmen .