midnight
`` Take care of yourself and Mrs. Jones , my dear fellow , '' I concluded ; `` that is all you have to do , and I shall be satisfied . '' I parted from him affectionately , wondering if my path in life would ever cross the honest , stupid old fellow 's again , and heartily hoping that his fortune would soon take him out of the rogue 's nest in which he had been dwelling . The night came on , fair and still , clear and star-lit ; but there was no moon and , outside the immediate neighborhood of the main streets , the darkness was enough to favor our hope of escaping notice without being so intense as to embarrass our footsteps . Everything , in fact , seemed to be on our side , and I was full of buoyant confidence as I drank a last solitary glass to the success of our enterprise , put my revolver in my pocket , and , on the stroke of midnight , stole from my lodgings . I looked up toward the bank and dimly descried three or four motionless figures , whom I took to be sentries guarding the treasure . The street itself was almost deserted , but from where I stood I could see the Piazza crowded with a throng of people whose shouts and songs told me that the colonel 's hospitality was being fully appreciated . There was dancing going on to the strains of the military band , and every sign showed that our good citizens intended , in familiar phrase , to make a night of it .