midnight
At such moments , the Quadroon became completely unsexed , and could herself scarcely contain her own anger and passion so far as not to spring , tiger-like , upon the object of her hatred . But the hour for the attempt upon the dwelling , and the destruction of its inhabitants , drew near . The negroes had sworn to stand by each other , and had sacrificed an infant to their deity , to propitiate him and insure success . It was long past midnight that the blacks might have been seen pouring out of the adjacent jungle nearest to the house . They had selected the hour for their attack when they supposed the dwellers in the stockade-house would be soundest wrapped in sleep , and they had indeed chosen well , and all their plans had been carefully arranged . But just as Maud opened the secret entrance for them to pass in , and she herself passed out , to flee for the time being from the scene , Don Leonardo came out from his sleeping-apartment , followed by a trusty slave , and promptly shot down the two first figures that entered by the door , causing them to fall dead . This unexpected repulse caused those behind to retreat for a while to the jungle , where they might consult under cover as to what this unexpected opposition to their plans indicated .