midnight
Ichabod watched with unseeing eyes . He was in a daze , thinking more in sorrow than in anger of `` how fer he had let them minxes go with him -- an ' Sary a-lookin ' on , too ! '' He shook his head despondently , as he reflected that the closing incident would have been more agreeable if `` Sary had n't been a-lookin ' on . '' Once more , Ichabod Jones burned midnight oil . In the early evening he brought his easy chair out in front , where he could see the glistening waters and watch the moon climb high . He smoked pipeful after pipeful of his strong tobacco . Again he made rings , and thought , and wondered .