midnight
To strike her mark at thirty feet became , in a little while , quite as easy as to do so at five ; and , secure now of her weapon , her next object -- though there was no cessation of her practice -- was how to seek and where to find the victim . In this new object she meditated to disguise herself in the apparel of a man . She actually commenced the making up of the several garments of one . This was also the secret labor of the midnight hour , when her feeble-minded mother slept . She began to feel some of the difficulties lying in the way of this pursuit , and her mind grew troubled to consider them , without however , relaxing in its determination . That seemed a settled matter . While she brooded over this new feature of her purpose -- as if fortunately to arrest the mad design -- her mother fell seriously sick , and was for some time in danger .