midnight
But you must follow my instructions ; you must n't frighten yourself , and take as little of that stimulant as possible . ' Kate answered that it was not her custom to take too much , and she tried to look surprised at the warning . She nevertheless derived a good deal of comfort from the doctor 's visit , and during the course of the evening succeeded in persuading herself that her fears of the morning were ill-founded and , putting the medicine that was sent her away for the present , she helped herself from a bottle that was hidden in the upholstery . The fact of having a long letter to write to Dick explaining her conduct , made it quite necessary that she should take something to keep her up ; and sitting in her lonely room , she drank on steadily until midnight , when she could only just drag her clothes from her back and throw herself stupidly into bed . There she passed a night full of livid-hued nightmares , from which she awoke shivering , and suffering from terrible palpitations of the heart . The silence of the house filled her with terrors , cold and obtuse as the dreams from which she awakened . Strength to scream for help she had none ; and thinking she was going to die , she sought for relief and consolation in the bottle that lay hidden under the carpet .