midnight
Fearing consequences for the wretch , should any one wake , he would mercifully have motioned him off in silence ; but the warning gesture was misunderstood . The thief started back , expecting a blow , stumbled against the nearest bed , roused Four Eyes , and in a second the whole room was in an uproar . The full moon lit the intruder 's face as if with a white ray from a police lantern . Pelle and a dozen others recognized the man from the Eleventh , who could have but one midnight errand in the sleeping-room of the Tenth : the errand of a thief . Like wolves they leaped on him , snapping and growling , swearing the strange oaths of the Legion . Bayonets flashed in the moonlight ; blood spouted red , for a soldier of the Legion may `` decorate '' himself with a comrade 's belt , or bit of equipment , if another has annexed his : that is legitimate , even _ chic _ ; but money or food he must not steal if he would live . It is the Legion 's law .