midnight
Mary Ann breathed regularly under all circumstances . Mary Ann talked and talked and talked . But then , Mary Ann was not a human being . When she left the hotel at midnight , Pembroke was quite sure that she understood his plan and that she was irrevocably in love with him . Tomorrow might bring his death , but it might also ensure his escape . After forty-two years of searching for a passion , for a cause , for a loyalty , Frank Pembroke had at last found his . Earth and the human race that peopled it .