midnight
Then he slowly went back to the house and told the tale of the end of Tricky . It was not till midnight that Tricky came back . Of course you knew Tricky would come back . You knew the rope would slip over the stone , or break , or be eaten through by a great fish , or something , and , though none of these things happened , it is certainly true that that night at midnight Tricky did turn up . Perhaps I should say turn down , for he came in , as usual , by the chimney . But the exact way in which this singular creature escaped from its watery grave must be reserved for another chapter . If the shepherd had stood looking over the cliff for one moment longer he would have witnessed a curious scene .