midnight
She better understood its importance , for , but the hour before , she had given him conditional instructions , and hoped he might be now in the act of carrying them out . Upheld by this hope , which the Dona Luisa , when told of it , shared with her , they less irksomely passed the hours . But at length , alas ! it , too , was near being given up , as the night grew later , nearing midnight . Then the little _ mertiza _ came in charged with new intelligence ; not so startling , since they anticipated it . The _ Dueno _ had got home , and , as themselves , was under arrest . Astounded by what he had learned on return , and angrily protesting , the soldiers had rudely seized hold of him , even refusing him permission to speak with his daughter .