midnight
A diamond tiara valued at £ 50,000 sterling had been stolen from the Duchess of Brokedale , and under circumstances which threw society itself and every individual in it under suspicion -- even his Royal Highness the Prince himself , for he had danced frequently with the Duchess , and was known to be a great admirer of her tiara . It was at half-past eleven o'clock at night that the news of the robbery first came to my ears . I had been spending the evening alone in my library making notes for a second volume of my memoirs , and , feeling somewhat depressed , I was on the point of going out for my usual midnight walk on Hampstead Heath , when one of my servants , hastily entering , informed me of the robbery . I changed my mind in respect to my midnight walk immediately upon receipt of the news , for I knew that before one o'clock some one would call upon me at my lodgings with reference to this robbery . It could not be otherwise . Any mystery of such magnitude could no more be taken to another bureau than elephants could fly -- '' `` They used to , '' said Adam . `` I once had a whole aviary full of winged elephants .