midnight
Ashman noticed not the diamond bracelet and necklace , which flashed in all their prismatic beauty , but knew only that she had returned the smile of recognition . For that boon he would have risked life a thousand times over . Both Ziffak and the king were looking at the white man at the moment ; but , as if suspicion had entered the brain of the infuriated monarch , he quickly shifted his head and glared at his daughter . The movement was like the dart of a serpent , but that shadowy smile on the face of Ariel had passed , as the lightning flash cleaves the midnight , leaving the darkness deeper than before . The king saw it not , and well for his child that so it was ; for , much as he cherished her , he would have smitten her to the earth had he dreamed that she ventured on such a response to the impudence of the white man , whose very life was his own only through the sufferance of King Haffgo . Not until Fred Ashman found himself in the air on the outside of the place did he realize what he had done . He feared that he had committed a fatal indiscretion , but when he asked , himself whether he would recall it if he could , his heart said `` No . ''