midnight
She eyed the blindfolded men speculatively , swung out of bed , and put on her stockings and sandals ; then she sat on the edge of the bed and waited for the sequence . Kitty Conover was going to have some queer recollections to tell her grandchildren , providing she had any . That morning she had risen to face a humdrum normal day . And here she was , at midnight , hobnobbing with quiescent murder and sudden death ! To-morrow Burlingame would ask her to hustle up the Sunday stuff , and she would hustle . She wanted to laugh , but was a little afraid that this laughter might degenerate into incipient hysteria . There was still in her mind a vivid recollection of her dream -- the fire of diamonds and the blonde girl with the tiara of rubies .