midnight
Ha ! would a madman have been so wise as this ? And then , when my head was well in the room , I undid the lantern cautiously -- oh , so cautiously -- cautiously -LRB- for the hinges creaked -RRB- -- I undid it just so much that a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye . And this I did for seven long nights -- every night just at midnight -- but I found the eye always closed ; and so it was impossible to do the work ; for it was not the old man who vexed me , but his Evil Eye . And every morning , when the day broke , I went boldly into the chamber , and spoke courageously to him , calling him by name in a hearty tone , and inquiring how he has passed the night . So you see he would have been a very profound old man , indeed , to suspect that every night , just at twelve , I looked in upon him while he slept . Upon the eighth night I was more than usually cautious in opening the door .