midnight
The night of his grandfather 's mysterious death at the Cedars , Bobby Blackburn was , at least until midnight , in New York . He was held there by the unhealthy habits and companionships which recently had angered his grandfather to the point of threatening a disciplinary change in his will . As a consequence he drifted into that strange adventure which later was to surround him with dark shadows and overwhelming doubts . Before following Bobby through his black experience , however , it is better to know what happened at the Cedars where his cousin , Katherine Perrine was , except for the servants , alone with old Silas Blackburn who seemed apprehensive of some sly approach of disaster .