midnight
His plump hands wandered over the keys with surprisingly delicate touch . For a short time he improvised . Then as the night quiet stole into his thoughts , he drifted into Rubinstein 's Melody in F , playing it dreamily . It was midnight when Jim Weeks reached Tillman City . The next morning at breakfast he recognized Mr. McNally , and though he nodded pleasantly , his thoughts were not the most amicable . He knew that McNally meant mischief , and he also knew that McNally 's mischief could be accomplished only through one man , Michael Blaney . Heretofore Blaney had not troubled Jim .