midnight
A cold chill crept over me , for I remembered the death of Captain Allen ; and this was like a confirmation of what I had feared as to foul play . `` There is no trusting one wholly or even partially insane . So we were always on our guard . Not once , but many times during the few nights we have spent here , have we heard the door of our chamber tried after midnight . It was plain to us that it was not safe to live in this way , and so we had come to the reluctant conclusion that personal restraint must be secured . The question as to how this could best be done we had not yet decided , when death unraveled the difficulty . '' The speaker ceased at this part of her narrative , and lifting from the table a small bell , rung it .