midnight
The storm continued ; all next day it poured and drove furiously ; but apple-cutting went on blithely indoors . What was rare for him , Addison had a bad cold with a very sore throat ; and we all retired early that night , not having as yet caught up all arrears of broken sleep from the camping trip . But it was not to be a night of rest ; and I for one was destined to have an exciting experience before morning . Shortly after midnight there came an obstreperous knocking and thumping at the outer door , so loud that it waked us in our beds up-stairs . It was repeated twice ; and then I heard the Old Squire below call out , `` Who 's there ? '' `` It 's me , '' replied a troubled voice . `` Well , but who 's ` me ? ' ''