midnight
But nothing more unusual did he hear that night than the roar of the wind , the dash of the brawling southeaster against the panes , and the groans of the old house , shaken by the storm . Toward morning he crept back to bed and fell instantly into a deep and dreamless sleep . While Tom was thus watching and sleeping a somewhat different experience had fallen to the lot of Dan Frost . He had no definite plan in making a midnight visit to the vicinity of the House on the Dunes , but he hoped to discover some clue to the surrounding mysteries . From time to time during the day he had taken his field glasses to one of the upper rooms of the Inn , and scanned the countryside but nothing unusual seemed astir in the white world without . The _ Southern Cross _ had lain on the surface of the little cove all day , swaying with wind and tide , no sign of activity upon her decks . It was after ten when he started forth .