midnight
The innkeeper had an understanding with the captain , as he most probably had with the chiefs of the different bands . When any of the patroles and gens d'armes were quartered at his house , the brigands were warned of it by a preconcerted signal on the door ; when there was no such signal , they might enter with safety and be sure of welcome . Many an isolated inn among the lonely parts of the Roman territories , and especially on the skirts of the mountains , have the same dangerous and suspicious character . They are places where the banditti gather information ; where they concert their plans , and where the unwary traveller , remote from hearing or assistance , is sometimes betrayed to the stiletto of the midnight murderer . After pursuing our road a little farther , we struck off towards the Woody mountains which envelope Rocca Priori . Our march was long and painful , with many circuits and windings ; at length we clambered a steep ascent , covered with a thick forest , and when we had reached the centre , I was told to seat myself on the earth . No sooner had I done so , than at a sign from their chief , the robbers surrounded me , and spreading their great cloaks from one to the other , formed a kind of pavilion of mantles , to which their bodies might be said to seem as columns .