midnight
Restore to me my sword , pit me against them one by one , and I will fight my way to freedom or die ... . A fair fight , too , a rising of the people against oppression ; a challenge to the oppressor to do his worst ; a gallant leading of a forlorn hope ... . But a slave insurrection ! a midnight butchery ! There was one who used to tell me tales of such risings in the Indies . Murder and rapine , fire rising through the night , planters cut down at their very thresholds , shrieking women tortured , children flung into the flames , -- a carnival of blood and horror ! '' `` We are not in the Indies , '' said the other quietly .