Midnight
`` Ha ! the sly rogue ! '' thought the priest . Midnight rang from the old church clock just as Corentin and the abbe re-entered the salon . The opening and shutting of doors and closets could be heard from the bedrooms above . The gendarmes pulled open the beds ; Peyrade , with the quick perception of a spy , handled and sounded everything . Such desecration excited both fear and indignation among the faithful servants of the house , who still stood motionless about the salon .