midnight
Here , behind the portrait of your great-grandmother , I have listened and watched all night . I opened the secret door a fraction of an inch -- just enough to permit me to look into the apartment where the king and the American lay wounded . They had been talking as I opened the door , but after that they ceased -- the king falling asleep at once -- the American feigning slumber . For a long time I watched , but nothing happened until near midnight . Then the American arose and donned the king 's clothes . `` He approached Leopold with drawn sword , but when he would have thrust it through the heart of the sleeping man his nerve failed him . Then he stole some papers from the room and left .