midnight
When he could have his own way , he said to himself , he would retire to some country castle which his father owned , and there devote himself to such employment as fell in with his wishes . But he was to receive a sharp lesson that no man , however highly placed , is independent of his fellows . He was unaware of the commotion that arose round his own name , and of the grim hanging of the leaders who chose him as their supreme head . When , bewildered and sleepy , he was aroused at midnight , and saw three armed men standing by his bedside , he received a shock that did more to awaken him than the grip of alien hands on his shoulders . During that night ride in the boat he said nothing but thought much . He had heard his mother plead for him without for a moment delaying his departure . She , evidently , was powerless .