midnight
That would not matter at all . He could tuck his cap under his head and go to sleep on the ground . He could command himself to waken once every half-hour and look for the lights . He would not go to sleep until it was long past midnight -- so long past that there would not be one chance in a hundred that anything could happen . But the clouds which made the night so dark were giving forth low rumbling growls . At intervals a threatening gleam of light shot across them and a sudden swish of wind rushed through the trees in the garden . This happened several times , and then Marco began to hear the patter of raindrops .