midnight
Agatha , half-dressed , had slept , and woke feeling that the night must be far advanced . The house was very still , with no sound or echo of the incoherent tones which , for now many days , had come from the room down the hall . She lit a candle , and the sputtering match seemed to fill the house with noise . Her clock indicated a little past midnight . It was only twenty minutes since she had lain down , but she was wide awake and refreshed . While she was pinning up her hair in a big mass on the top of her head , she heard in the hall slow , steady steps , firm but not heavy , even as in daytime . Susan Stoddard did not tiptoe .