midnight
The outer door was fast , and the shutters closed . No booted feet appeared below the curtains , no living eyes rolled awfully in the portrait of the salmon-coloured saint upon the wall . Yet the rustling and rasping went on , and with one impulse the defenders of sleeping innocence made for the table in the corner . There was the midnight robber at his fell work ! -- the big cat peacefully gnawing the cold chicken , and knocking about the treasured crusts dragged from the luncheon-basket carefully packed for an early start . ` Wake and behold the ruin your pet has made ! ' ` We might be murdered or carried off a dozen times over without her knowing it .