midnight
Even the old major was rather enjoying the zest of a man-hunt , and his eyes flashed with a new fire under his grizzled eyebrows . But nothing happened and the assassin remained at large . The hunters scoured the country , searched the forest on the outskirts of the Ten Eyck estate , and woke the sleeping Gypsies to demand what they knew . The Gypsies knew nothing , and at midnight the horsemen returned . The house was silent . Everyone had gone to bed except José , who sat in the library listening for every sound that creaked through the old place . He met Major Ten Eyck and the boys at the front door , holding a candle high and peering anxiously into the dark to see what quarry they had brought home .