midnight
Ah ! talk of poverty -- ' He shrugged his shoulders , and finally growled : ` We shall be rich some day ; do n't fret . ' Then the silence fell again , and she did not even attempt to break it , but gazed at her nine coppers laid in a row upon the table . At last , as it struck midnight , she shivered , ill with waiting and chilled by the cold . ` Let 's go to bed , dear , ' she murmured ; ` I 'm dead tired . ' He , however , was working frantically , and did not even hear her . ` The fire 's gone out , ' she began again , ` we shall make ourselves ill ; let 's go to bed . '