midnight
What would be the end of all this ? It was already late in the evening , and she had not returned . The father cast anxious glances toward the door , every time he heard the latch moving . At last , when it was near midnight , he roused all his men from their sleep , and commanded them to follow him . Soon the dusky forests resounded far and near with the blast of horns , the report of guns , and the calling and shouting of men . The affrighted stag crossed and recrossed the path of the hunters , but not a rifle was leveled at its head . Toward morning -- it was before the sun had yet risen -- Lage , weary and stunned , stood leaning up against a huge fir .