midnight
There was all that was left of the stale loaf , with the remains of some cheese , in a canvas bag , he had slung over his shoulder , and he had plenty of money ; for his wages were good , and he never spent more than half of what he received , merely because he had no wants , and no friends . Under the starlight he walked at a steady pace by familiar paths and byways , so as to avoid the village and strike the highroad at some distance beyond it . Nino followed close at his heels and perfectly silent , and the pair might have been dangerous to any one inclined to quarrel with them . When Ercole was in sight of Porta San Sebastiano it was past midnight , and he stood still to fill and light his little clay pipe . Then he went on ; but instead of entering the gate he took the road to the right again , along the Via Appia Nuova . Any one might have supposed that he would have struck across to that highroad some time before reaching the city , but it was very long since Ercole had gone in that direction ; many new roads had been opened and some old ones had been closed , and he was simply afraid of losing his way in a part of the Campagna no longer familiar to him . -LSB- Illustration : `` ERCOLE LEFT HIS HOME AFTER SUNSET THAT EVENING '' -RSB- A short distance from the gate , where the inn stands that goes by the name of Baldinotti , he took the turning to the left , which is the Frascati road ; and after that he walked more slowly , often stopping and peering into the gloom to right and left , as if he were trying to recognise objects in the Campagna .