midnight
And so , while he did not dare to approach her in person , he determined to put his case to a final test , and if he could not win her back to leave forever a place in which he was doomed to suffer perpetual torment . In the execution of this purpose , he wrote her a letter in which , after passionately pleading for her love , he asked her to give him a sign of willingness to take him once more back into her life . `` If I may cherish hope of your ultimate relenting , '' he wrote , `` place your candle on the window sill . I will wait until midnight , and if you extinguish it then , I shall accept your decision as final , and you will be responsible for what follows . I am a desperate man , and life without you has become intolerable . '' With this letter in his hand , he waited until the street was quiet and the halls of the tenement house deserted , and then crept up the long staircase with trembling knees . On tiptoe he picked his way across the corridor and slipped the note under the door .