midnight
The next day the kites were flying merrily ; and among them I saw the good old eagle , with a large round white spot on his back , which I interpreted to mean that my signal had been discovered . It seemed to me that the sun would never set that evening , and I was in mortal fear that when it did the wind would also go down . At last , the shadows of night descended upon the earth , and still the breeze blew finely . I waited at the window , and watched with all my eyes until near midnight , when , to my delight , I saw the shadow of a kite coming between me and the stars . With one quick , strong pull I wrenched the grating out , and stood with my head projecting from the hole , ready to catch the kite . As soon as I got hold of it , I found that there were two strings attached ; and I was careful to cut only one , as the other was probably intended to remove the kite , and pull it to the ground again . After hauling in the twine and the stronger cords fastened to it , I found the rope-ladder in my grasp ; and in a very short time it was fastened to the iron bars below the grating that I had removed .