midnight
All men had turned their backs on them , no creature near to wipe the dews of death , to put a cool hand to the brow , or soften the intensity of the last sad sigh that carried their souls from earth . Thus they passed away , punished lawlessly by the law till they succumbed , and then , since they were no longer food for torture , ignored by the law and abandoned by the human race . They locked up one dying man at eight o'clock . At midnight the thirst of death came on him . He prayed for a drop of water , but there was none to hear him . Parched and gasping the miserable man got out of bed and groped for his tin mug , but before he could drink the death agony seized him . When they unlocked him in the morning they found him a corpse on the floor with the mug in his hand and the water spilled on the floor .