two o’clock in
the morning
From a verst above and below the point where the scarp met the river 's bank , came a dull murmur , proving that the Tartars were on foot , expecting some signal . An hour passed . Nothing new . The bell of the Irkutsk cathedral was about to strike two o'clock in the morning , and not a movement amongst the besiegers had yet shown that they were about to commence the assault . The Grand Duke and his officers began to suspect that they had been mistaken . Had it really been the Tartars ' plan to surprise the town ? The preceding nights had not been nearly so quiet -- musketry rattling from the outposts , shells whistling through the air ; and this time , nothing .