midnight
Kuzma Vassilyevitch laughed , took the cards , and all evil thoughts immediately slipped out of his mind . But they came back to him that very day . When he had got out of the gate into the street , had said good-bye to Emilie , shouted to her for the last time , _ `` Adieu , Zuckerpüppchen ! '' _ a short man darted by him and turning for a minute in his direction -LRB- it was past midnight but the moon was shining rather brightly -RRB- , displayed a lean gipsy face with thick black eyebrows and moustache , black eyes and a hooked nose . The man at once rushed round the corner and it struck Kuzma Vassilyevitch that he recognised -- not his face , for he had never seen it before -- but the cuff of his sleeve . Three silver buttons gleamed distinctly in the moonlight . There was a stir of uneasy perplexity in the soul of the prudent lieutenant ; when he got home he did not light as usual his meerschaum pipe .