midnight
Take no denial from his servants . If he is in bed , he must be awaked . Say that I sent you , and there should be no difficulty . '' Precisely at midnight the train started . Quickly gathering speed , it ran through the tumbledown suburbs of the city and rumbled across the iron bridge that spans the Tave River . In twenty minutes it was at Semlin , and Austrian officials were examining passports . It was almost ludicrous to find that they gave Alec and his mother a perfunctory glance ; but Lord Adalbert Beaumanoir excited their lively suspicion .