midnight
It was as if two weeks had been plucked from his allotment without his knowledge or consent . Many a night Victor and Breton were compelled to use force to hold the sick man on his mattress . He horrified the nuns at evening prayer by shouting for wine , calling the main at dice , or singing a camp song . At other times his laughter broke the quiet of midnight or the stillness of dawn . But never in all his ravings did he mention the marquis or the tragedy of the last rout . Some secret consciousness locked his lips . Sometimes Brother Jacques entered the berthroom and applied cold cloths , and rarely the young priest failed to quiet the patient .