midnight
Father Andrey came in with his sly smile . `` I have the pleasure and blessed consolation of seeing you in health , '' he said to Granny , and it was hard to tell whether he was joking or speaking seriously . The wind was beating on the window and on the roof ; there was a whistling sound , and in the stove the house spirit was plaintively and sullenly droning his song . It was past midnight ; everyone in the house had gone to bed , but no one was asleep , and it seemed all the while to Nadya as though they were playing the fiddle below . There was a sharp bang ; a shutter must have been torn off . A minute later Nina Ivanovna came in in her nightgown , with a candle . `` What was the bang , Nadya ? ''