midnight
It is a matter of life and death . '' `` All right . '' And we walked boldly along the broad strip of sward . The moon was now almost immediately overhead , for it was midnight , or near it . I confess the scene awed me , the giant masses of the mountains above us , the vast distances of mysterious blue air , through which the snow-peaks shone out with a strange look that was not natural . The swish of the quickly flowing stream at the edge of the plot we were walking over sounded hollow and unearthly ; the velvety whirr of the great mountain bats as they circled near us , stirred from the branches as we passed out , was disagreeable and heavy to hear . The moon shone brighter and brighter .