midnight
She wore a soft silk scarf about her head , a fold partly draped across her face . A momentary view I had of her -- and wildly incongruous she looked in that place -- and she had disappeared from sight , having approached someone invisible who sat upon the divan immediately beneath our point of vantage . From the way in which the company gazed towards her , I divined that she was no habitue of the place , but that her presence there was as greatly surprising to those in the room as it was to me . Whom could she be , this elegant lady who visited such a haunt -- who , it would seem , was so anxious to disguise her identity , but who was dressed for a society function rather than for a midnight expedition of so unusual a character ? I began a whispered question , but Smith tugged at my arm to silence me . His excitement was intense . Had his keener powers enabled him to recognize the unknown ?