midnight
He noticed with astonishment that on both sides , beyond the evergreen oaks , the bare rocks looked much whiter than before ; that many little streaks of light were glinting through the foliage above his head . Dawn ? Was it dawn ? Benedetto had thought it was little past midnight . The hour struck at Santa Scolastica -- one , two , three , four . It was indeed morning , and it would be lighter still -- for it no longer rained-were the sky not one heavy cloud from the hills of Subiaco to the hills of Jenne . A step in the distance ; some one coming up towards the arch .