midnight
Jimmie had hold of her now , clinging round her , shaking with terror and murmuring something she could not understand . Her whole attention was upstairs . She was wondering how long it would go on . It must be past midnight now , she thought : the streets seethed still as death . But overhead there was still movement and the sound of blows , and then abruptly the end came . There was one more crescendo of noise -- two voices raised in dispute , one almost shrill , in anger or expostulation ; then one more sudden and heavy noise as of a blow or a fall , and dead silence . The next thing that Mrs. Partington remembered afterwards was that she found herself standing on the landing upstairs , listening , yet afraid to move .