midnight
Things were indeed taking curious turns , and I wondered what would happen next . What motive , I asked , could Kaffar have in connecting me with the ghost , and what was the plot which was being concocted ? There in the broad daylight the apparition seemed very unreal . The servants , alone in the hall at midnight , perhaps talking about the traditional ghost , could easily have frightened themselves into the belief that they had seen it . Or perhaps one of their fellow-servants sought to play them a trick , and ran away when they saw what they had done . I would sift a little deeper . I immediately retraced my steps to the house , where meeting Tom , I asked him to let me have Simon Slowden and a couple of dogs , as I wanted to shoot a few rabbits .