midnight
A single horseman wheeled the corner in the midst of them , and close behind him came a band of fearful wind instruments , sending forth a fresher discord now that no intervening buildings kept it from the ear . Then a redder light disturbed the moonbeams , and a dense multitude of torches shone along the street , concealing , by their glare , whatever object they illuminated . The single horseman , clad in a military dress , and bearing a drawn sword , rode onward as the leader , and , by his fierce and variegated countenance , appeared like war personified ; the red of one cheek was an emblem of fire and sword ; the blackness of the other betokened the mourning that attends them . In his train were wild figures in the Indian dress , and many fantastic shapes without a model , giving the whole march a visionary air , as if a dream had broken forth from some feverish brain , and were sweeping visibly through the midnight streets . A mass of people , inactive , except as applauding spectators , hemmed the procession in ; and several women ran along the sidewalk , piercing the confusion of heavier sounds with their shrill voices of mirth or terror . `` The double-faced fellow has his eye upon me , '' muttered Robin , with an indefinite but an uncomfortable idea that he was himself to bear a part in the pageantry . The leader turned himself in the saddle , and fixed his glance full upon the country youth , as the steed went slowly by .