midnight
exclaimed Pascal . Their proceedings were destined to be further modified by the events of this night . Tidings as black as the darkest night that ever brooded over the island in the season of storms poured in to overshadow the prospects of the negroes , and the hopes of their chief . It was after midnight when , in the midst of their quiet consultation , Toussaint and his secretary thought they heard voices at the gate . Toussaint was going to ascertain , when he was met in the hall by news that a messenger from the south-west had arrived . The messenger entered , halting and slow . `` It is -- no , '' said Pascal ; `` surely it can not be -- '' `` Is it possible that you are Jacques ? ''