twelve o'clock
The colonel and the troops were to surround the officers ' messroom , and offer them life and largesse , or death and destruction . Here again we anticipated their choice with composure . The army was then to be paraded in the Piazza , the town overawed or converted , and , behold , the Revolution was accomplished ! The success of this design entirely depended on its existence remaining a dead secret from the one man we feared , and on that one man being found alone and unguarded at twelve o'clock on Friday night . If he discovered the plot , we were lost . If he took it into his head to attend the supper , our difficulties would be greatly increased . At this point we turned to the signorina , and I said briefly : `` This appears to be where you come in , signorina .