midnight
The door was strong , and I smiled grimly at the thought that this time they would have their trouble for their pains . To my surprise , however , they did not desist , and go away , as I expected , but continued to knock at intervals and whisper much between times . More than once they called me softly by name and bade me open , but as they steadily refrained from saying who they were , I sat still . Occasionally I heard them laugh , but under their breath as it were ; and persuaded by this that they were bent on a frolic , I might have persisted in my silence until midnight , which was not more than two hours off , had not a slight sound , as of a rat gnawing behind the wainscot , drawn my attention to the door . Raising my candle and shading my eyes I espied something small and bright protruding beneath it , and sprang up , thinking they were about to prise it in . To my surprise , however , I could discover , on taking the candle to the threshold , nothing more threatening than a couple of gold livres , which had been thrust through the crevice between the door and the floor . My astonishment may be conceived .