Midnight
The next instant , he pulled the sheet over his eyes to shut out the blinding glare of lightning that lit up the empty room . The crash of thunder that followed seemed to his distorted fancy the defiant challenge of all the powers of darkness . All sorts of rebellious thoughts flocked through the boy 's mind , as he lay there in the darkness of the empty room , thinking bitterly of his thwarted plans . Midnight always magnifies troubles , and as he brooded over his disappointments and railed at his fate , not only his past wrongs loomed up to colossal size , but a vague premonition of worse evil to come began to weigh on him . It was nearly morning before he dropped into a troubled sleep . Refreshed by a long night 's rest and the tempting breakfast Mrs. Sears spread for her three guests , Philippa soon recovered her usual gay spirits . The news that Alec had disclosed the night before , which sent her stunned and heart-sick to her retreat in the old apple-tree , had faded into the background in the excitement of the fire .