midnight
said Mrs. Sallie very solemnly , `` if you do n't go out and help those men , I 'll never forgive you . '' Really , the drama had grown very impressive ; it was a mystery , to say the least ; and so it must remain forever , for when Frank , infected at last by Mrs. Sallie 's faith in tragedy , opened the door and offered his tardy services , the wagon was driven rapidly away without reply . They never learned what it had all been ; and I think that if one actually honors mysteries , it is best not to look into them . How much finer , after all , if you have such a thing as this happen before your door at midnight , not to throw any light upon it ! Then your probable tipsy man can not be proved other than a tragical presence , which you can match with any inscrutable creation of fiction ; and if you should ever come to write a romance , as one is very liable to do in this age , there is your unknown , a figure of strange and fearful interest , made to your hand , and capable of being used , in or out of the body , with a very gloomy effect . While our friends yet trembled with this sensation , quick steps ascended to their door , and then followed a sharp , anxious tug at the bell . `` Ah ! ''