midnight
The captain was in favor of going to Leyden . `` It 's four long miles from here . Full sixteen of your English miles , Benjamin . We have no time to lose if you wish to reach there before midnight . Decide quickly , boys -- Blue Stairs or Leyden ? '' `` Leyden , '' they answered , and were out of Haarlem in a twinkling , admiring the lofty , towerlike windmills and pretty country seats as they left the city behind them . `` If you really wish to see Haarlem , '' said Lambert to Ben , after they had skated awhile in silence , `` you should visit it in summer .