midnight
`` I wo n't tell 'em anything about your keeping silence ; go on with the piece and say nothing , doing what you can by a judicious wink now and then , and a few indomitable nods in the heroic places , you know . They 'll never find out that the speeches are omitted . '' This seemed feasible enough , for Turpin 's speeches were not many or long , the fascination of the piece lying entirely in the action ; and accordingly the play began , and at the appointed time Black Bess leapt into the grassy circle amid the plaudits of the spectators . At the turnpike scene , where Bess and Turpin are hotly pursued at midnight by the officers , and the half-awake gatekeeper in his tasselled nightcap denies that any horseman has passed , Coggan uttered a broad-chested `` Well done ! '' which could be heard all over the fair above the bleating , and Poorgrass smiled delightedly with a nice sense of dramatic contrast between our hero , who coolly leaps the gate , and halting justice in the form of his enemies , who must needs pull up cumbersomely and wait to be let through . At the death of Tom King , he could not refrain from seizing Coggan by the hand , and whispering , with tears in his eyes , `` Of course he 's not really shot , Jan -- only seemingly ! '' And when the last sad scene came on , and the body of the gallant and faithful Bess had to be carried out on a shutter by twelve volunteers from among the spectators , nothing could restrain Poorgrass from lending a hand , exclaiming , as he asked Jan to join him , `` Twill be something to tell of at Warren 's in future years , Jan , and hand down to our children . ''