twelve o'clock
`` I think the captain must be stark staring mad , '' answered Milsom ; but it was to be observed that he said this in rather an absent manner , and appeared to be thinking deeply . `` Oh no , he ai n't , '' said James Harwood ; `` there ai n't a sharper customer going . '' And then , finding that the landlord of the `` Cat and Fiddle '' did not offer anything more in the way of refreshment , Mr. Harwood departed . There was a full moon that January night , and when Mr. Milsom had attended to the wants of his customers , seen the last of them to the door a little before twelve o'clock , shut his shutters , and extinguished the lights , he stole quietly out of his house , went forth into the deserted street , and made his way towards the summit of the hill on which the castle stood , like an ancient fortress , frowning darkly upon the humble habitations beneath it . He passed the archway and the noble gothic gates , and crept along by the fine old wall that enclosed the park , where the interlaced branches of giant oaks and beeches were white under the snow that had fallen upon them , and formed a picture that was almost like a scene in Fairyland . He climbed the wall at a spot where a thick curtain of ivy afforded him a safe footing , and dropped softly upon the ground beneath , where the snow had drifted into a heap , and made a soft bed for him to fall on . `` There will be more snow before daylight to-morrow , '' he muttered to himself , `` if I 'm any judge of the weather ; and there 'll be no trace of my footsteps to give the hint of mischief . ''