midnight
Hosmer had left the sitting-room door open , and Thérèse entered . She approached Fanny 's door and knocked twice : not brusquely , but sufficiently loud to be heard from within , by any one who was awake . No answer came , and she went away , knowing that Fanny slept . The unusual sound of the bell , ringing two hours past midnight -- that very deadest hour of the night -- had roused the whole plantation . On all sides squads of men and a few venturesome women were hurrying towards the fire ; the dread of supernatural encounters overcome for the moment by such strong reality and by the confidence lent them in each other 's company . There were many already gathered around the mill , when Grégoire and Hosmer reached it . All effort to save anything had been abandoned as useless .