midnight
It was about the full of the moon , and in his impatience to reach Donnaz he resolved to push on after nightfall . The forest was still thinly-leaved , and the rustle of wind in the branches and the noise of the torrents recalled his first approach to the castle , in the wild winter twilight . The way lay in darkness till the moon rose , and once or twice he took a wrong turn and found himself engaged in some overgrown woodland track ; but he soon regained the high-road , and his servant , a young fellow of indomitable cheerfulness , took the edge off their solitude by frequent snatches of song . At length the moon rose , and toward midnight Odo , spurring out of a dark glen , found himself at the opening of the valley of Donnaz . A cold radiance bathed the familiar pastures , the houses of the village along the stream , and the turrets and crenellations of the castle at the head of the gorge . The air was bitter , and the horses ' hoofs struck sharply on the road as they trotted past the slumbering houses and halted at the gateway through which Odo had first been carried as a sleepy child . It was long before the travellers ' knock was answered , but a bewildered porter at length admitted them , and Odo cried out when he recognised in the man 's face the features of one of the lads who had taught him to play pallone in the castle court .