midnight
It was also my last night in town , and I did want to give the beggars their last chance . But they did not even attempt to avail themselves of it : never once did they follow me : my ears were in too good training to make any mistake . And the reason only dawned on me as I drove back disappointed : they had followed me already to the gunsmith 's ! Convinced of this , I entertained but little hope of another midnight visitor . Nevertheless , I put my light out early , and sat a long time peeping through my blind ; but only an inevitable Tom , with back hunched up and tail erect , broke the moonlit profile of the back-garden wall ; and once more that disreputable music -LRB- which none the less had saved my life -RRB- was the only near sound all night . I felt very reluctant to pack Deane and Adams away in his case next morning , and the case in my portmanteau , where I could not get at it in case my unknown friends took it into their heads to accompany me out of town . In the hope that they would , I kept him loaded , and in the same overcoat pocket , until late in the afternoon , when , being very near my northern destination , and having the compartment to myself , I locked the toy away with considerable remorse for the price I had paid for it .