midnight
To begin with , the jury , my lord , was undoubtedly , from all signs , about to convict the prisoner upon a charge of murder -- a murder of which he was entirely innocent . You have heard Merriton 's story . Believe me , every word of it is true -- circumstantial evidence to the contrary notwithstanding . `` In the first place , Dacre Wynne was shot through the temple at the instigation of that man there , '' he pointed to Brellier , standing pale and still between two constables , `` foully shot , as many others had been similarly done to death , because they had ventured forth across the Fens at night , and were likely to investigate this man 's charming little midnight movements , further than he cared about . To creatures of his like human life is nothing compared to what it can produce . Men and women are a means to an end , and that end , the furtherance of his own wealth , his own future . The epitome of prehistoric selfishness , is it not ?