about midnight
Tom did know where he lived . The old four-story frame building in Whitmanville , the Diamond Building , the highest in the town , had been made famous by his residence . The top floor was said to be his apartment and it was commonly supposed that he kept chickens in it . There were some dreadful stories about midnight dissections , but cooler heads affirmed that if there were any chickens there at all , they were there as the companions and not as the helpless victims of a debauched old age . And now the two social workers were invited into these mysterious precincts ! The news might swell the roster to disconcerting proportions . They should have to proceed with caution .