midnights
His sinful eye was dazzled and he hid himself behind an altar , with an evil purpose in his heart , but a priest discovered him and turned him out . Afterward he got in again -- by false keys , this time . He went there , night after night , and worked hard and patiently , all alone , overcoming difficulty after difficulty with his toil , and at last succeeded in removing a great brick of the marble paneling which walled the lower part of the treasury ; this block he fixed so that he could take it out and put it in at will . After that , for weeks , he spent all his midnights in his magnificent mine , inspecting it in security , gloating over its marvels at his leisure , and always slipping back to his obscure lodgings before dawn , with a duke 's ransom under his cloak . He did not need to grab , haphazard , and run -- there was no hurry . He could make deliberate and well-considered selections ; he could consult his esthetic tastes . One comprehends how undisturbed he was , and how safe from any danger of interruption , when it is stated that he even carried off a unicorn 's horn -- a mere curiosity -- which would not pass through the egress entire , but had to be sawn in two -- a bit of work which cost him hours of tedious labor .