Midnight
By means of this he could enter Grace 's house at a certain unguarded part and then run down and unbar the front door . He had thoroughly reconnoitered the premises , and was sure of success . First one day was appointed for the enterprise , then another , and , at last , it was their luck to settle on a certain night , of which I will only say at present , that it was a night Hillsborough and its suburbs will not soon forget . Midnight was the hour agreed on . Now at nine o'clock of this very night the chief-constable of Hillsborough was drinking tea with Little scarcely twenty yards from the scene of the proposed abduction . Not that either he or Little had the least notion of the conspiracy . The fact is , Hillsborough had lately been deluged with false coin , neatly executed , and passed with great dexterity .