midnight
`` You had best go after dark , '' the other rejoined after awhile . `` Come back to me after nine o'clock . It is not far to the Chemin de Pantin -- just where it intersects the Route de Meaux . You can get there and back before midnight . The people will admit you . I will give you a ring -- the only thing I possess ... . It has little or no value , '' he added with a harsh , grating laugh .