midnight
We stopped at last opposite the large , handsome house , which stood in the front of the photograph I had seen in London . I could just recognize it in the darkness ; and behind lay the garden and the second range of building . Not a glimmer of light shone in any of the windows . `` It is midnight nearly , '' said Madame Perrier , as we came to a stand-still and waited for her husband , the _ avocat _ . Even when he came up with the luggage there seemed some difficulty in effecting an entrance . He passed through the garden-gate , and disappeared round the corner of the house , walking softly , as if careful not to disturb the household . How long the waiting seemed !