midnight
I leaped up in the bed and listened . They were not doubtful sounds that I heard , and they appeared to be made by the heel of a heavy boot . The person who demanded admission to the cottage at that unseemly hour was evidently in earnest , and the door groaned under the vigorous assaults he made upon it . Of course I could not be uncertain in regard to the errand of the midnight visitor -- for such the striking of the clock in the hall below now assured me he was . `` The tug of war '' was at hand , and I was to be called upon at once to `` face the music . '' I decided not to be forward in meeting the messenger from Mrs. Loraine , whoever he was . It was possible , if not probable , that she had sent the deputy sheriff after me ; and this terrible official might hurry me off from my bed to a cell in the Cannondale lockup , heedless of the fact that I was found in another county .