midnight
All was as light as day , and yet so different . Every object in the street , every stone in the cottage opposite , stood out distinct and clear , but bathed in a pale and ghostly atmosphere . The distant murmur of the sea came to him like the sigh of one just freed from pain . Nothing else was to be heard ; no human tread disturbed the midnight stillness ; but along the winding road that led to Turlock he caught the far-off flutter of a woman 's dress . She was going at rapid speed , and the next moment had turned the corner , but not before he had recognized his Harry ; and , closing the inn door softly behind him , he started after her like an arrow from the bow . The scene of this pursuit was strange and weird enough , had Richard possessed eyes for any thing but the object of it . The sky was without a cloud , and the sea -- which showed on its cold blue surface a broad and shining path where the moon-beams lay -- without a ripple .