nearly midnight
He stopped at an inn for supper , and , having refreshed himself , resolved to break the rule he had made for himself throughout the journey . He would push on through the night , and sleep in his native village . The storm became more pitiless as he proceeded , and he found himself sympathizing with those poor creatures who were compelled to be out in it , but he never gave a thought to himself . It was nearly midnight when he saw the square church tower standing blackly out against the dark sky ; and when he began to descend the valley , on the other side of which the town stood , a thrill of fear came over him , as he remembered what he had so long forgotten -- that the valley was haunted , and was a particularly dangerous place about the hour of midnight . To divert his thoughts he then began to wonder who the woman was he would marry . She was doubtless now sleeping calmly in the village on the hill , quite unconscious of the approach of her lover and her husband . He could not conceal from himself the fact that he would be reckoned a good match when his wealth was known , for , excepting the Squire , he would probably be the richest man in the place .