midnight
`` The king is about to have a grand hunting-party the day after to-morrow , '' observed Surrey , `` and we wished to give your son some instructions respecting it . They can , however , be delivered to another keeper . '' And they departed with Bryan , and returned to the castle . At midnight they again issued forth . Their steeds awaited them near the upper gate , and , mounting , they galloped across the greensward in the direction of Herne 's Oak . Discerning no trace of the ghostly huntsman , they shaped their course towards the forest . Urging their steeds to their utmost speed , and skirting the long avenue , they did not draw the rein till they reached the eminence beyond it ; having climbed which , they dashed down the farther side at the same swift pace as before .