ten o'clock
Ten o'clock came , and with it complete silence save for the measured tread of cadet officers going from room to room to see the occupants thereof were all in bed . And now sounded forth the clock , with its ominous tick-tock , as though it had been silent all day , and there came the oppressive silence which reigns each night after ten o'clock . So it was this Friday night . Four bells , indicating ten o'clock , were struck , the lights were put out and a solemn hush was upon the eight hundred occupants of Bancroft Hall . And then , in the stillness of the night , there arose an awful heart-terrifying shriek . It was plainly in the armory wing and evidently from one of the upper floors . Startled , affrighted midshipmen jumped from their beds and stood in listening attitudes .