midnight
Late in the evening the dragoons returned to the castle : they had suffered a good deal on the difficult ground to which they had allowed themselves to be attracted by Captain Nicholas ; fifteen being reported as wounded severely , and several horses shot . They had however defeated the object of Captain Nicholas , which was -LRB- agreeably to the secret information -RRB- to possess himself of the horses in the depôt ; with what ultimate view , they were still left to conjecture . That this was simply some final effort of desperation , it was easy to judge from what followed . A little before midnight on this same evening Captain Nicholas appeared at the castle-gate , and surrendered himself prisoner to the soldiers on guard ; at the same time desiring one of them to carry a note to Sir Morgan Walladmor . In this note he requested an interview with Sir Morgan for a few moments , which was immediately granted : Captain Nicholas was conducted to the library ; and the guard , who attended him , directed to wait on the outside . Edward Nicholas began by adverting rapidly to his own former connexion with Miss Walladmor . This had been broken up : he blamed nobody for that : it was but one part of the general misfortune which had clouded his life .