midnight
He re-entered the room , and examining the windows , found them furnished with thick iron bars like the windows of a prison , so that to pass through them was impossible ; and further investigation resulted in the unpleasant conviction that he was a prisoner in that dreadful house , with no immediate means of escape . He again descended into the cellar , and began seriously to reflect upon the realities of his situation . He was a young man of determination and courage : yet he could not entirely subdue those feelings of uneasiness and alarm which were natural under the circumstances . He was alone , at midnight , in that abode of crime and murder ; near him lay the corpse of an unfortunate fellow creature , who had without a doubt fallen by the hand of an assassin ; he was momentarily expecting the return of that arch-miscreant , who would show him no mercy ; a deep , unbroken silence , and an air of fearful mystery , reigned in that gloomy cellar and throughout that awful house -- and before him , dark and yawning as the gate of hell , was that black and infernal pit which led to the subterranean caverns of the Dark Vaults , far below . ` I will sell my life dearly , at all events , ' thought our hero , as he drew a bowie knife from his breast , and felt its keen , glittering edge ; then impelled by a sudden thought , he advanced to the mouth of the pit , and cut the four ropes , which sustained the wooden platform , so nearly asunder , that they would be almost sure to break with a slight additional weight . He had scarcely accomplished this task , when a strange , unnatural cry resounded throughout the cellar -- a cry so indescribably fearful that it chilled his blood with horror . It was almost instantly followed by a low and melancholy wail , so intense , so solemn , so profoundly expressive of human misery , that Frank was convinced that some unfortunate being was near him , plunged in deepest anguish and distress .