three o'clock in the morning
The lower shutter to that was also closed , but by standing up on the window-sill I could look into the room . What was my surprise to see a lady sitting at a table , on which stood a lamp , with a book in her hand , reading . Her back was towards me , but from her figure and dress I thought she was young . What surprised me was to find a lady sitting up at that hour , for it was now between two and three o'clock in the morning . Something unusual must , I suspected , be going on in the house . I was afraid that the sudden appearance of a body of armed men would seriously frighten the lady , and so I resolved to enter the house alone and take my chance of meeting with opposition from any man who might be there . A door opened into the garden .