midnight
It was well for me I was no stranger to the rough , mountainous road I had to travel , for the night was pitch dark , and scarcely a soul was afoot at that late hour . I did , indeed , encounter a patrol of troopers near the Black Hill , who ordered me to halt and dismount and give an account of myself . But his honour 's passport satisfied them , as it did the sentry who challenged me on entering the little town of Carndonagh . Thence to Malin it is but two leagues ; but my wretched beast was so spent that , unless I wished to leave it on the road , I was compelled to take it most of the way at a foot 's pace ; so that when at last I pulled up before the little inn at Malin , it was on the stroke of midnight . `` Faith , Mr Gorman 's fond of sending messengers , '' said the landlord . `` There was another of his here two hours since . '' `` What ! ''