midnight
`` So it was true enough that this night they whetted knives at Branehog , '' said Torarin , laughing . He had drunk deeply , because of the sorrow and heaviness that were upon him when he came , seeking to comfort himself as best he could . `` Now I am of good cheer again , '' said he , `` since I am well assured it was no evil omen the parson 's lady heard , but only these tanners making ready their gear . '' Long after midnight a couple of men came out of the house at Branehog to harness their horses and drive home . When they had come into the yard they saw a great fire flaring up against the sky in the north . They hastened back into the house and cried out : `` Come out ! Come out !