midnight
We talked on , unmindful of the gathering shadows , and she was begging me to throw away the clasp of black onyx quaintly inlaid with what we now knew to be the Yellow Sign . I never shall know why I refused , though even at this hour , here in my bedroom as I write this confession , I should be glad to know _ what _ it was that prevented me from tearing the Yellow Sign from my breast and casting it into the fire . I am sure I wished to do so , and yet Tessie pleaded with me in vain . Night fell and the hours dragged on , but still we murmured to each other of the King and the Pallid Mask , and midnight sounded from the misty spires in the fog-wrapped city . We spoke of Hastur and of Cassilda , while outside the fog rolled against the blank window-panes as the cloud waves roll and break on the shores of Hali . The house was very silent now , and not a sound came up from the misty streets . Tessie lay among the cushions , her face a grey blot in the gloom , but her hands were clasped in mine , and I knew that she knew and read my thoughts as I read hers , for we had understood the mystery of the Hyades and the Phantom of Truth was laid .