midnight
But -- ' ` Thank you . Good night , Mrs. Turpin . ' There was quiet for an hour or more . At something after midnight , when Miss Rodney had just finished writing half a dozen letters , there sounded a latch-key in the front door , and some one entered . This person , whoever it was , seemed to stumble about the passage in the dark , and at length banged against the listener 's door . Miss Rodney started up and flung the door open . By the light of her lamp she saw a moustachioed face , highly flushed , and grinning .