midnight
As he had partly explained , he had climbed up the hammock , as a sailor climbs a rope . The hammock swung on the side porch , but when it was not in use it hung by one hook , rather high up , and by twisting it together it could be made into a sort of rope . Russ and Rose , as I have told you , had been listening under the porch window to what Grandpa Ford had been telling about the queer happenings at Great Hedge Estate . Just as he reached the point where he was going to tell about the strange noise at midnight , Russ decided he could hear better if he were higher up , and nearer the window . The hammock had been left hanging by one hook , after Laddie and Vi had finished swinging in it a little while before , and up this Russ climbed . But his hands slipped , and down he fell , making a good deal of noise . Of course if Rose had put the mat under him , as he had told her to do , there would not have been such a racket .