nine o'clock
Still , what else could he have done ? He was bound in honour to fulfil his pledge to the royal cause by sending the thirty men , and as for himself , he had no hesitation in deciding that , for this night at least , the post of duty , if not of honour , was on the ramparts of his own castle , even though on that account the Singletons must ride leaderless to the king 's standard . Besides , it must be confessed , there was a spice of adventure about the undertaking which well accorded with his bold spirit ; and as his thoughts went back to the scene of the banquet and the suspicions entertained there as to his own courage , it pleased him to reflect that , whatever happened , a Singleton would never again be able to charge his chief with cowardice . It was nine o'clock and quite dark when he turned from the gateway out of which his men had just sallied , and retraced his steps slowly into the deserted castle . His solitary footsteps sounded weird and lonely across the paved yard which a few minutes before had rung with the clatter of horses and the bustle of preparation . Still more solitary did they sound as he passed on his way through the deserted passages , and found himself once more in the old banqueting-hall , where the feast remained still on the board , and the empty chairs all round , just as the clansmen had left them to obey the sudden and urgent order to march forth . But dreariest of all did they sound as , forcing open a small and long disused door , which grated back on its hinges and groaned as he did so , he stepped out on to the east terrace .