midnight
Yet for Rosalie he must take the risk -- he must go . It was a still night , and the moon , delicately bright , gave forth that radiance which makes spiritual to the eye the coarsest thing . Inside the white house on the hill all was dark . Sleep had settled on it long before midnight , for , on the morrow , its master and mistress hoped to make a journey to the valley of the Chaudiere , where the Passion Play was being performed by habitants and Indians . The desire to see the play had become an infatuation in the minds of the two , eager for some interest to relieve the monotony of a happy life . But as all slept , a figure in the dress of a habitant moved through the passages of the house stealthily , yet with an assurance unusual in the thief or housebreaker . In the darkest passages his step was sure , and his hand fastened on latch or door-knob with perfect precision .