midnight
Let it be brought forward . '' At his word lads appeared from behind the idol , driving two lean bulls , and with them a pair of he-goats . Whether by accident or design , they drove them so unskilfully that the animals blundered hither and thither over the rocky platform till they were finally despatched with blows from clubs and axes -- that is , except one goat , which , escaping its pursuers , rushed down the amphitheatre and scrambled from seat to seat among the audience , uttering a succession of terrified `` baa 's . '' Indeed the scene was so comic that even that sombre and silent people began to laugh , accustomed as they were on these occasions to the hideous and impressive ceremonial of the midnight sacrifice of so many human beings . The ancient feast was a fiasco ; this was a fact which could not be concealed . `` Begone , ye People of the Mist , '' said Nam presently , pointing to the dead animals . `` The sacrifice is sacrificed , the festival of Jal is done .