midnight
In the darkest part of the long passage outside I met Therese with her arms full of pillows and blankets . Coming out of the bright light of the studio I did n't make out Therese very distinctly . She , however , having groped in dark cupboards , must have had her pupils sufficiently dilated to have seen that I had my hat on my head . This has its importance because after what I had said to her upstairs it must have convinced her that I was going out on some midnight business . I passed her without a word and heard behind me the door of the studio close with an unexpected crash . It strikes me now that under the circumstances I might have without shame gone back to listen at the keyhole . But truth to say the association of events was not so clear in my mind as it may be to the reader of this story .