midnight before
The man must evidently have raised his arm to strike him , else the dog would not have thus interposed , and then , had the stranger been an honest man , he would have paused to explain , instead of disappearing thus . `` I must be on my guard ; there are assassins hereabouts , '' he said to himself , and after a moment 's fondling of the hound , who had instantly recognized him , he once more drew nearer to the Plato , when suddenly the palace bell sounded the alarm of fire . His duty called him instantly to return , which he was forced to do . It was past midnight before the fire was quenched , and Lorenzo Bezan dismissed the guard and extra watch that had been ordered out at the first alarm , and himself , greatly fatigued by his exertions and care in subduing the fire , which in Havana is done under the direction and assistance of the military , always , he threw himself on his couch , and fell fast asleep . Early the subsequent morning , he despatched a line to Isabella Gonzales , saying that on the evening of that day he would answer in person her dear communication ; and that though pressing duty had kept him from her side , she was never for one moment absent from his heart . He begged that Ruez might come to him in the meantime , and he did so at once . The meeting between them was such as the reader might anticipate .