midnight
In fact , Hugh had made himself a trifling-present lately of a small vestpocket edition of a flashlight , controlled by a battery , and had thought it worth while to carry it along with him on this expedition , though not saying anything about it to the others , thus far . `` I 'm bound to find out what makes that noise , as sure as anything can be , '' was what the boy was telling himself resolutely , even while he crept out from among the folds of the warm blanket endeared to him by reason of many associations of the past , of which so much has been written in previous volumes . That was just like Hugh Hardin . A good many boys would possibly have concluded that going wandering about a great imitation castle like Randall 's Folly , after midnight , trying to discover the origin of strange sounds , was no business of theirs , and would have cuddled down closer , even drawing their blanket over their heads in order that they might not hear a repetition of the noise . Hugh was built on a different order . He knew full well that sleep with him was entirely out of the question so long as that chilling whimpering and rustling continued at regular intervals . Now Hugh was only a boy , it must be remembered , and many a strong man would have declined committing himself in the way the scout master intended doing .