midnight
`` There 's a corfee-stall near their road and the night bein ' crool damp I thought as how a nice cup o ' corfee 'd warm me up afore I went back to the Waterloo Bridge Road . I had me cup o ' corfee and was jes ' a-payin ' the chap what has the pitch w ` en a fellow passes by right in the light o ' the lamp on the stall . It was th ' orficer here , in plain clothes -- shabby-like he was dressed -- but I knew him at once . '' ` Our orficers do n't walk about these parts after midnight dressed like tramps , ' I sez to meself , and rememberin ' what I seen at the Hohenlinden Trench I follows him ... '' `` Just a minute ! '' The Chief 's voice broke in upon the narrative . `` Did n't you know , Barling , had n't you heard , about Captain Strangwise 's escape from a German prisoners of war camp ? '' `` No , sir ! ''