midnight
Without , the night was indeed cooler , with a sighing wind , and in the west a thickening wrack of clouds . It was very dark . The restless and multitudinous flicker of the fireflies but emphasized the shadow , and the stars seemed few and dim . It was near midnight , and the wide landscape below the mountain lay in darkness , save for one distant knoll where lights were burning . That was Fontenoy , and Rand , looking toward it with knitted brows , wondered why the house was so brightly lighted at such an hour . In another moment the road descended , the heavy trees shut out the view of the valley , and with very much indeed upon his mind , he thought no more of Fontenoy . It was utterly necessary to him to find a remedy for the sting , keen and intolerable , which he bore with him from Monticello .