midnight
Slowly they returned to the hut to pass the remaining hours of the night -- though sleep was , of course , after what they had witnessed , impossible . They remained awake , therefore , talking in low tones of the fatal event , and listening to the solemn _ sough _ of the wind through the pines , that sounded to Errington 's ears like a monotonous forest dirge . He thought of the first time he had ever seen the unhappy creature whose wandering days had just ended , -- of that scene in the mysterious shell cavern , -- of the wild words he had then uttered -- how strangely they came back to Philip 's memory now ! `` You have come as a thief in the golden midnight , and the thing you seek is the life of Sigurd ! Yes -- yes ! it is true -- the spirit can not lie ! You must kill , you must steal -- see how the blood drips , drop by drop , from the heart of Sigurd !