midnight
In the river a tug was watching for a possible police boat . On the wharf the only footfalls were those of Gordon himself and an assistant from the Junta . It was dreary waiting , and Constance drew her coat more closely around her , as she shivered in the night wind and tried to brace herself against the unexpected . At last the welcome muffled rumble of heavily laden carts disturbed the midnight silence of the street leading to the river . At once a score of men sprang from the hold of the ship , as if by magic . One by one the cases were loaded . The men were working feverishly by the light of battle lanterns -- big lamps with reflectors so placed as to throw the light exactly where it was needed and nowhere else .