midnight
From a balcony at the far end of the room , crept a faint note of music . The players were carefully concealed behind banked palms and gigantic ferns . To the surprised ears of those unaware of their presence it came first as a single note , then a chord , a stave , a vibrant meaning . It was like a distant bugle call across a midnight plain . It swelled into a challenge . Then , echoing the hoof beats of horses , it swept into a glorious charge . All the invisible instruments crashed valorously into their fullest sounds .