midnight
Then our swords fell to talking and our tongues were still . -LSB- Illustration : Then our swords fell to talking in the garden of the masked ball . -RSB- The turf was free of brush or trees ; and , as I have already said , the illumination was so arranged that , practically , there were no shadows . The Garden seemed almost as bright as day ; indeed , save that the light was white , we might , just as well , have been duelling at noon-tide as at midnight . It had not been hard to gather , from Lotzen 's last remarks to his companion , what sort of a fight he proposed making ; and , after the usual preliminary testing of strength , I contented myself with the simplest sort of defence and awaited the main attack . It seems hardly possible that two men could engage in a combat with rapiers , at such an occasion , and not draw a crowd . There is something peculiarly penetrating about the ring of steel on steel at night .