midnight
It was the house of the Golden Dog ; and as he surveyed it and tried vainly to read the letters of the inscription , his shadowy visitor at Troyes once more arose vividly before his imagination , and the terrible scene of Philibert 's murder seemed to be enacted again upon the flight of steps before the door . Absorbed in the gruesome story with which he was so strangely connected , he returned to his chamber , and retired . Twice he heard the tramp of a change of guards passing along the street . Once a convent bell rang , perhaps for some midnight burial . The next day at breakfast he learned from his hostess that the presence of the strange gentleman lodging with her had been remarked by several young women , and that it was already the gossip of the Upper Town . In the course of her stream of news she mentioned Monsieur de Léry . The hand with which he was about to lift his cup to his lips stopped , and he casually asked -- `` Who is _ he _ ? ''