midnight
`` Do n't you dare to put that thing down my neck ! '' `` It will cool you off , Laura , '' said Rhoda ; but just then she slipped and went down , shattering the icicle into fragments . `` No more noise , '' whispered Bess , closing the window . At that moment , Nan 's clock , sounding the first stroke of midnight , startled the girls . `` The hour indeed waxeth late , '' whispered Laura , and vanished . One by one the others noiselessly followed . There was the almost inaudible sound of softly closing doors , and quiet reigned over Lakeview Hall .