midnight
I tested my bullets time and again , and weighed out the powder as if it had been gold dust . It was short range , so I made my charges small . I tried my old device of wrapping each bullet in soft wool smeared with beeswax . All this passed the midnight hours , and then I lay down for a little rest , but not for sleep . I was glad when Faulkner summoned me half an hour before sunrise . I remember that I bathed head and shoulders in cold water , and very carefully dressed myself in my best clothes . My pistols lay in the box which Faulkner carried .