midnight
They were nearing Clerkenwell Close , and had to pass a corner of the prison in a dark lane , where the wind moaned drearily . The line of the high blank wall was relieved in colourless gloom against a sky of sheer night . Opposite , the shapes of poverty-eaten houses and grimy workshops stood huddling in the obscurity . From near at hand came shrill voices of children chasing each other about -- children playing at midnight between slum and gaol ! ` We 're not likely to see much of each other after to-night , ' said Sidney , stopping . ` The less the better , I should say , if this is how you 're going to talk to me . ' ` The less the better , perhaps -- at all events for a time .