midnight
The household betook itself to rest . The master alone remained up and awake . The night was gloriously clear , and the moonlit forest was like fairyland . The windows of the chamber in which Windybank awaited the stroke of midnight faced towards the river , and the sheen of its broad waters was plainly visible . He sat without a light , and the silvery beams from without cast fantastic shadows on the oaken floor and the dark panelling of the low walls . The carved furniture stood distorted and grotesque . The woodwork creaked as it cooled from the heat of the day , and a mouse that scuttled sharply across the floor brought the watcher to his feet with an exclamation of alarm .