about midnight
He never neglected an opportunity of turning an honest penny , and , accordingly , had been engaged from an early hour in his boat collecting tallow ; of which plunder a considerable amount had been already conveyed to his abode . Besides Gorman , several of the other personages of our tale found their way to the great centre of attraction , London Bridge , on that night . Among them was John Barret , who , on hearing of the fire , had left his snug little villa and pretty little wife to witness it . He had already made one or two cheap trips on one of the omnibuses , and , about midnight , got down and forced his way to a position near the south side of the bridge . Here he was attracted to a ginger-beer barrow which an unusually adventurous man had pushed through the crowd into a sheltered corner . He forced his way to it , and , to his amazement , found the owner to be his former friend Ned Hooper . `` Hallo !