Midnight
It was all accomplished in the space of a few minutes . Smiling , he passed out into the fast settling twilight . They were shipping a lion to San Francisco , and the roaring and confusion were all very satisfactory to the trespasser . Midnight . From afar came the mellow notes of the bells in the ancient Spanish mission . The old year was dead , the new year was born , carrying with it the unchanging sound of happiness and misery , of promises made and promises broken , of good and evil . `` The packet ! ''