midnight
Nothing , of course ! I walked over to the bookcase , took up the braid I had left there , and sat down in an old armchair to study my trophy . On principle and by habit I had no intention of being mastered by nerves . It was humiliating to discover that I could be made nervous by the mere fact of being in an unoccupied farmhouse after midnight . The braid was magnificent . It was as broad as my palm , yet compressed so tightly that it was thick and solid to the touch . If released over someone 's shoulders , it would have been a sumptuous cloak , indeed !