ten o'clock at night
The palace on the bench was nearly completed , and he went to work at once and finished it . It had a glass front , so that the dainty little occupants of the institution could not get out , and the foe of white mice , the terrible cat , could not get in . This establishment had been intended for Mr. Stropmore ; but as that gentleman had not been informed of his purpose to present it , Leo decided that it should be used to initiate the experiment on whose success so much depended . It was ten o'clock at night when the grand palace on the bench was finished . Leo put some cotton wool into the sleeping apartments , and then transferred three pairs of mice from the most densely populated house to the new one . He watched them for a while , as they explored their elegant hotel , going up stairs and down , snuffing in every corner , standing upon their hind legs , and taking the most minute observations of the surroundings . Leo was entirely satisfied with the work of his hands , and with the conduct of the mice who had been promoted to a residence in its elegant and spacious quarters .