midnight
And the old man had become so enormously rich through the building of mills which had been going on at Tretton , that , as Mrs. Mountjoy thought , he would be able to make any number of elder sons . On the subject of entail her ideas were misty ; but she felt sure that Mountjoy Scarborough would even yet become a rich man . That Florence should be made to change on that account she did not expect . But she did think that when she should have learned that Harry was a murderer , or a midnight thief , or a wicked conspirator , she would give him up . Therefore she agreed to receive him with not actually expressed hostility when he should call at Montpelier Place . But now , in the proper telling of our story , we must go back to Harry Annesley himself . It will be remembered that his father had called upon Mr. Prosper , to inform him of Harry 's projected journey to America ; that Mountjoy Scarborough had also called at Buston Hall ; and that previous to these two visits old Mr. Scarborough had himself written a long letter giving a detailed account of the conflict which had taken place in the London streets .