midnight
Ye have heard of what sayeth Sir Leonard of these hauntings in the hall , and how that they have come back again , wherefore why should we not sleep in the hall this night , those of us at least who have not so much fear as not to note them well , to see if we may draw any avail from them ? How say ye ? For my part I will try the adventure , whatever may come of it . Now they all yeasaid it , though Aurea was somewhat timorous , albeit she would not be parted from the others ; so when night came there they made their beds and lay down ; and the end of it was , that a little before midnight Atra waked the others , and did them to wit that by her deeming something was toward ; and presently they were all four as wide awake as ever they were in their lives ; and next , without any sound that was strange , there came the image of a woman on to the dais , clad in green like to an huntress of ancient days , her feet sandalled , her skirts gathered up into her girdle , so that her legs were naked ; she had a quiver at her back , and a great bow in her hand . Now to all of them save Atra this appearance seemed to be the image of Birdalone ; but she told her fellows afterwards , that to her it seemed not to be altogether Birdalone , but rather some other one most like unto her , as it were her twin-sister . Gazed the image kindly and sweetly on them , so that they beheld it without fear ; and it seemed to them that it gave forth speech ; yet not so much that the sound of words was in the air about and smote their ears , as that the sense of words reached the minds of them . And this was the tale of it : Ye , who are seeking the lost , have done well to come hither , and now shall ye do well to wend the straightest way to the dwelling of the wildwood , and that is by way of the western verge of Evilshaw the forest .