midnight
The same sailboat that had taken the captain up to the town in the afternoon was waiting for them at the landing place , whence , the captain , having wished them Godspeed , and having shaken Barnaby very heartily by the hand , they pushed off , and , coming about , ran away with the slant of the wind , dropping the shore and those strange beings alike behind them into the night . As they sped away through the darkness they could hear the creaking of the sails being hoisted aboard of the brigantine , and so knew that she was about to put to sea once more . Nor did Barnaby True ever set eyes upon those beings again , nor did anyone else that I ever heard tell of . It was nigh midnight when they made Mr. Hartright 's wharf at the foot of Wall Street , and so the streets were all dark and silent and deserted as they walked up to Barnaby 's home . You may conceive of the wonder and amazement of Barnaby 's dear stepfather when , clad in a dressing gown and carrying a lighted candle in his hand , he unlocked and unbarred the door , and so saw who it was had aroused him at such an hour of the night , and the young and beautiful lady whom Barnaby had fetched with him . The first thought of the good man was that the Belle Helen had come into port ; nor did Barnaby undeceive him as he led the way into the house , but waited until they were all safe and sound in privily together before he should unfold his strange and wonderful story . `` This was left for you by two foreign sailors this afternoon , Barnaby , '' the good old man said , as he led the way through the hall , holding up the candle at the same time , so that Barnaby might see an object that stood against the wainscoting by the door of the dining room .