midnight
In reply to Mrs. Blows 's request for the capital sum , they expressed astonishment that she could be willing to tear herself away from the hero 's grave , and spoke of the pain which such an act on her part would cause him in the event of his being conscious of it . In order to show that they were reasonable men , they allowed her an extra shilling that week . The hero threw the dole on the bedroom floor , and in a speech bristling with personalities , consigned the committee to perdition . The confinement was beginning to tell upon him , and two nights afterward , just before midnight , he slipped out for a breath of fresh air . It was a clear night , and all Gravelton with one exception , appeared to have gone to bed . The exception was Police-constable Collins , and he , after tracking the skulking figure of Mr. Blows and finally bringing it to bay in a doorway , kept his for a fort-night . As a sensible man , Mr. Blows took no credit to himself for the circumstance , but a natural feeling of satisfaction at the discomfiture of a member of a force for which he had long entertained a strong objection could not be denied .