midnight
Thames Darrell 's fears were not , however , groundless . Danger , in the form he apprehended , was lurking outside : nor was he destined to enjoy long repose . On receiving the warning note from the ostler , Jack Sheppard and his companion left Willesden , and taking -- as a blind -- the direction of Harrow , returned at night-fall by a by-lane to Neasdon , and put up at a little public-house called the Spotted Dog . Here they remained till midnight when , calling for their reckoning and their steeds , they left the house . It was a night well-fitted to their enterprise , calm , still , and profoundly dark . As they passed beneath the thick trees that shade the road to Dollis Hill , the gloom was almost impenetrable . The robbers proceeded singly , and kept on the grass skirting the road , so that no noise was made by their horses ' feet .