midnight
In this man 's hand was something that glittered , and though the encounter nearly upset them both , he had not stopped to utter an apology , but stumbled away out of sight with a hasty but infirm step , which showed he was neither young nor active . The minister had failed to see his face , but noticed the ends of a long beard blowing over his shoulder as he hurried away . Philemon was a clean-shaven man . Asked if he could give the time of this encounter , he replied that it was not far from midnight , as he was in his own house by half-past twelve . `` Did you glance up at these windows in passing ? '' asked Mr. Fenton . `` I must have ; for I now remember they were both lighted . ''