midnight
But the operation was conducted to-night with business severity and silence . The two leaders sat opposite to each other , in what might have appeared to the rest of the band a scarcely veiled surveillance of each other 's actions . When the examination was concluded , and , the more valuable inclosures put aside , the despoiled letters were carried to the fire and heaped upon the coals . Presently the chimney added its roar to the moaning of the distant hillside , a few sparks leaped up and died out in the midnight air , as if the pathos and sentiment of the unconscious correspondents had exhaled with them . `` That 's a d -- d foolish thing to do , '' growled French Pete over his cards . `` Why ? '' demanded Chivers sharply .