midnight
In front of me the road became pitchy black as though it was tarred , and I saw a contorted shape lying across the pathway . I could not bring myself to go on . I turned down St. John 's Wood Road , and ran headlong from this unendurable stillness towards Kilburn . I hid from the night and the silence , until long after midnight , in a cabmen 's shelter in Harrow Road . But before the dawn my courage returned , and while the stars were still in the sky I turned once more towards Regent 's Park . I missed my way among the streets , and presently saw down a long avenue , in the half-light of the early dawn , the curve of Primrose Hill . On the summit , towering up to the fading stars , was a third Martian , erect and motionless like the others .