midnight
But I know you will answer me if it is possible , and I am happy to think that , by letting you know I am alive , I have given you a pleasure , soon , I hope , to be followed by the still greater happiness of meeting again . Let us wait patiently and confidently for that hour ! '' He sealed the letter and put it in his pocket , in order to hand it over to Brandelaar on the following day . He then waited for the reappearance of Penurot , who had promised to be back at midnight . But although he waited nearly an hour over the time in the tavern , he waited in vain . The terms in which Herr Amelungen 's natural son had spoken of the people he intended to look for that evening made the Major anxious about his fate . Before returning to his quarters , he paid a visit to the town police office , requesting that a search might be made in the less reputable sailors ' taverns near the harbour for M. Camille Penurot , of whose appearance he gave a careful description .