midnight
Still there was no answer . And then the shadowy object of alarm put itself in motion , and with a scramble and a bound stood in the middle of the road . He appeared to be a horseman of large dimensions and mounted on a black horse of powerful frame . Having no relish for this strange midnight companion , Cosmo Waynflete urged on his steed in hopes of leaving the apparition behind ; but the stranger quickened his horse also to an equal pace . And when the first horseman pulled up , thinking to lag behind , the second did likewise . There was something in the moody and dogged silence of this pertinacious companion that was mysterious and appalling . It was soon fearfully accounted for .