twelve o'clock at night
Sam , having been wounded , was sent to the hospital , and when his wound was healed , he was allowed leave of absence to recruit his strength , so he thought he would take a run to Durham and see how it fared with the paternal windmill . Time had , of course , wrought many changes both outside and in , but it still remained perched grimly on its pedestal , but now entirely abandoned to the bats and owls . The sails were gone , and the woodwork was slowly crumbling away ; but the basement being of hewn granite , it was still in a tolerable state of preservation . The place , however , was said to be haunted ; exactly at twelve o'clock at night dismal howls were heard by the villagers to issue from the mill . According to the blacksmith , who was a great authority in such matters , Sam 's father was a very avaricious old fellow , and had hid his money somewhere about the building ; and you know , Master Jack , that when a man dies and leaves his money concealed , there is no rest for him in his grave till it is discovered . '' `` I really was not aware of it before , '' replied Jack ; `` but I am delighted to hear it . '' `` When Sam arrived , nobody disputed his title to the property , except the ghost ; but Sam had seen a good deal of hard service , and declared that he would not be choused out of his patrimony for all the ghosts in the parish ; and , in spite of the persuasions of the villagers , resolved to take up his abode there forthwith .