midnight
Julius shuddered , and looked a bit pale at the very thought . `` Oh ! I was n't even dreaming of it , Hugh , '' he hastened to declare . `` I 'd much prefer to being asleep in my own comfy bed at home when midnight comes around , and the last thing on earth you 'd catch me doing would be out hunting spooks . '' It was just as Julius finished saying this that they received a sudden shock . A loud and thrilling sound , not unlike a human shriek , came to their ears , filling each and every boy in the car with a sense of unmitigated horror . It was so exceedingly dreadful that K. K. involuntarily brought the auto to a full stop , and then turned a face filled with mingled curiosity and awe upon his comrades .