midnight
The foolish husband , hearing that , was much astonished and also angry , and to remedy this state of affairs , thought of the means which I will relate . -LRB- * -RRB- That is to say came at curfew time . He told his wife that he was going , on a certain day which he named , to take to St. Orner a waggon-load of corn , and that the work might be well done , was going himself . When the day named for his departure arrived , he did , as is usual in Picardy , especially round St. Omer , that is loaded his waggon of corn at midnight , and at that hour took leave of his wife and departed with his waggon . As soon as he was gone , his wife closed all the doors of the house . Now you must know that the St. Omer to which our merchant was going was the house of one of his friends who lived at the other end of the village . He arrived there , put his waggon in the courtyard of the said friend -- who knew all the business -- and sent him to keep watch and listen round the house to see if any thief might come .