about midnight
If ever Jenny Jervis had been puzzled to account for the conduct of Sandy Crawford , he was now as much puzzled to account for the change which had come over her . He thought of the subject without being able to come to any conclusion , and then thought of it again to as little purpose as he had done before , till at last , wearied out with vain conjectures , he flung himself upon his bed in a state of mind not easy to be described ; and when Jenny , who was in no great haste to return , came in , his heavy breathing told that he was already asleep . On stealing a glance into the apartment where he was , she saw that he was still lying with his clothes on , and that his sleep was of that profound sort which commonly lasts for the night . Sandy Crawford had fallen asleep , little dreaming of either alarm or danger ; but , about midnight , he was disturbed by an indistinct and inarticulate sound , which , though it conveyed no meaning to his ear , was loud enough to awake him . Slowly and heavily he opened his eyes ; but it was not dark , as he expected it to be . On the contrary , a strange light glimmered around him , and , on turning his head to see whence it proceeded , he saw in the middle of the floor a spectre , which might have well appalled the heart of a hero . The ghost of Howdycraigs , to which his present visiter bore a striking resemblance , rushed back upon his memory , and he would have trembled , but that he did not recollect any bad consequences which followed that memorable event .