one o’clock
''' Colomba turned pale , and Lydia , who was watching her closely , had no difficulty in guessing the suspicions with which the colonel 's conjecture had inspired her . After a few minutes ' silence , Colomba eagerly inquired whether the two louder reports had been heard before or after the others . But neither the colonel , his daughter , nor the guide had paid much attention to this all-important detail . Toward one o'clock , as none of Colomba 's messengers had yet returned , she gathered all her courage , and insisted that her guests should sit down to table with her . But , except the colonel , none of them could eat . At the slightest sound in the square , Colomba ran to the window . Then drearily she returned to her place , and struggled yet more drearily to carry on a trivial conversation , to which nobody paid the slightest attention , and which was broken by long intervals of silence .