twelve o'clock
`` What time is it ? '' whispered Mr. Brown . I held my watch before him , while I again scanned the heavens . `` It is just twelve o'clock , '' my companion whispered . Hardly had the words escaped his lips , before the cloud disappeared , and the moon looked down with a roguish twinkle . We started to our feet , when , lo ! precisely where we stood was the edge of the shadow , cast in the form of a cross , with the upper part resting towards us .