twelve o'clock
` Depend upon it , it 's your brain-work that brought about all this mischief , ' she said . And after bidding her sister good-bye with a merry face , Thyrza would go up to her room , and sink down in weariness of body and soul , and weep her fill of bitter tears . The nights were so long . She never lay down before twelve o'clock , knowing that it was useless ; then she would hear the heavy-tongued bells tolling each hour till nearly dawn . It was like the voice of a remorseless enemy . ` I am striking the hour of Two . You think that you will not hear me when I strike next ; you weep and pray that sleep may close your ears against me .