midnight
Tolliver shrank from the assaults of the sounder . Where was Joe now ? At the inn , drinking ; or -- He jotted down the outpourings of the voluble key . More and more it became clear that the special and thirty-three would meet near his tower , but it would almost certainly be after midnight when Joe would have relieved him . He watched the clock , often pressing his fingers against his temples in an attempt to make bearable the hammering at his brain , unequal and persistent . While the hands crawled towards midnight the wind increased , shrieking around the tower as if the pounding angered it . Above the shaking of the windows Tolliver caught another sound , gentle and disturbing , as if countless fingers tapped softly , simultaneously against the panes .