midnight
To-night , then , and in an hour 's time . '' The press of incoming masqueraders screened them . The _ carabiniere _ knew the Prince by sight , and he listened with all his might , but they spoke English , and he dared not turn to stare at the girl until the tall figure in the red _ lucco _ had passed up the steps and gone in again , and by that time she had slipped away out of sight . Filippo came to the Borgo a little before midnight and crossed the dingy threshold of No. 27 as the bells of the churches rang out the hour . The old street was quiet enough now but for the wailing of some strayed and starving cats that crept about the shadowed courts and under the crumbling archways , and the departing cab woke strange echoes as it rattled away over the cobble stones . The only door on the sixth landing was open . `` What are you doing here ? ''