midnight
`` Who 's there ? '' I cried loudly . Nothing stirred outside the door , and still I hesitated . To some who read , my hesitancy may brand me childishly timid ; but I , who had met many of the dreadful creatures of Dr. Fu-Manchu , had good reason to fear whomsoever or whatsoever rapped at midnight upon my door . Was I likely to forget the great half-human ape , with the strength of four lusty men , which once he had loosed upon us ? -- had I not cause to remember his Burmese dacoits and Chinese stranglers ? No , I had just cause for dread , as I fully recognized when , snatching the pistol from my pocket , I strode forward , flung wide the door , and stood peering out into the black gulf of the stairhead .