midnight
So the carriage was ordered at once , and shortly after leaving the table they were on their way -- Elsie , children and nurses in the carriage , with Mr. Travilla , Mr. Dinsmore and son , all well armed , as their mounted escort . Horace had been taken aside by his father and told of the afternoon 's adventure , and in his indignation was almost eager for `` a brush with the insolent ruffians . '' None appeared , however ; Ion was reached in safety , they tarried there an hour or more , then returned without perceiving any traces of the foe . The hush of midnight has fallen upon the Oaks , Ion , Fairview and all the surrounding region ; the blinking stars and young moon , hanging a golden crescent just above the horizon , look down upon a sleeping world ; yet not all asleep , for far down the road skirting yonder wood , a strange procession approaches ; -- goblin-like figures , hideous with enormous horns , glaring eye-balls and lolling red tongues , and mounted upon weird-looking steeds , are moving silently onward . They reach a small house hard by the road-side , pause before it , and with a heavy riding whip the leader thunders at the door . The frightened inmates , startled from their sleep , cry out in alarm , and a man 's voice asks , `` Who 's there ? '' `` Open the door , '' commands the leader in a strange sepulchral voice .