midnight
Madden shrugged his shoulders , drew a long breath and stared out in the direction of the _ Vulcan _ . He could see nothing of the tug . The moon had sunk and the stars burned with a more vivid fire . The musing boy noted the position of the Hydra , and fancied it might be somewhere near midnight . Just then his guess was confirmed by four double strokes of the bell . There would be a change of guards . Perhaps the next man would not be so unsuspecting .