midnight
There he was stopped until his bill of health was examined , and that small manuscript being found all right , he was permitted to pass on in peace . Everywhere he went , the trail of the serpent was visible over all . Death and Desolation went hand in hand . Outside as well as inside the gates , great piles of wood and coal were arranged , waiting only the midnight hour to be fired . Here , however , no one seemed to be stirring ; and no sound broke the silence but the distant rumble of the death-cart , and the ringing of the driver 's bell . There were lights in some of the houses , but many of them were dark and deserted , and nearly every one bore the red cross of the plague . It was a gloomy scene and hour , and Sir Norman 's heart turned sick within him as he noticed the ruin and devastation the pestilence had everywhere wrought .