midnight
Although it was nipping cold , he seemed to be burning with the heat of an inward furnace . `` I 'll walk a bit to cool off , '' he said , and set out , his head down , his face grim , his manner absorbed . As he was crossing a street a cab whirled up beside him and stopped . He swore at the driver for his carelessness , but his profanity ended abruptly when the door of the cab swung open and he saw a pair of midnight eyes looking at him . `` By all the saints , '' gasped Bantry Hagan , actually staggering , `` it is the dead alive again ! '' The man in the cab lifted a hand and motioned to him . In a low , musical voice , he said : `` Señor Hagan , get in quickly .