midnight
He found Tanya and her father , Yegor Semyonitch , in great anxiety . The clear starlight sky and the thermometer foretold a frost towards morning , and meanwhile Ivan Karlovitch , the gardener , had gone to the town , and they had no one to rely upon . At supper they talked of nothing but the morning frost , and it was settled that Tanya should not go to bed , and between twelve and one should walk through the garden , and see that everything was done properly , and Yegor Semyonitch should get up at three o'clock or even earlier . Kovrin sat with Tanya all the evening , and after midnight went out with her into the garden . It was cold . There was a strong smell of burning already in the garden . In the big orchard , which was called the commercial garden , and which brought Yegor Semyonitch several thousand clear profit , a thick , black , acrid smoke was creeping over the ground and , curling around the trees , was saving those thousands from the frost .