midnight
`` Then we 'll turn it back to ten , '' said Skidmore , acting as he spoke . `` But he may hear the town clock strike . '' Billy said never a word , but plunged into his overcoat , threw on his hat , and hurried on into the cold night . `` Ten minutes to midnight , '' he said , as he looked up at the town clock upon the church steeple . `` Can I skin up them ladders in time ? '' Tommy awoke once before the last slumber . Billy was by his bedside , as were the doctor , the housekeeper , and the niece .