midnight
But seventeen years have passed , and perhaps even that horrible ceiling -- '' `` It still bears the stain , '' said I. I know not which of the three was the more astonished , for my mother had not heard of my adventures of the night . They never took their wondering eyes off me as I told my story , and my heart swelled with pride when my uncle said that we had carried ourselves well , and that he did not think that many of our age would have stood it as stoutly . `` But as to this ghost , it must have been the creature of your own minds , '' said he . `` Imagination plays us strange tricks , and though I have as steady a nerve as a man might wish , I can not answer for what I might see if I were to stand under that blood-stained ceiling at midnight . '' `` Uncle , '' said I , `` I saw a figure as plainly as I see that fire , and I heard the steps as clearly as I hear the crackle of the fagots . Besides , we could not both be deceived . '' `` There is truth in that , '' said be , thoughtfully .