midnight
During this hour both Lebon and the old Sheik recovered consciousness , but only in a vague manner . There was no attempt to tell them anything , to make any plans , to start any activities . In a Sahara simoom , men are content just to live . Before midnight the storm died with a suddenness even greater than that of its onset . Like a tangible flock of evil birds or of the spirits Victor Hugo has painted in _ Les Djinns _ , the sand-storm blew itself out to sea and vanished . The black sky opened its eyes of starlight , once again ; gradually calm descended on the desert , and by an hour after midnight the steady east wind had begun to blow again . The `` wolf 's tail , '' or first gray streak of dawn along the horizon , found the Legion all astir .