nearly two o'clock
before
All at once a French battery , close at hand , opened in reply , with such a tremendous crash that the walls of the little house were shaken . Weiss 's house was situated near the middle of the village , on the right of the road and not far from the Place de l'Eglise . Its front , standing back a little from the street , displayed a single story with three windows , surmounted by an attic ; in the rear was a garden of some extent that sloped gently downward toward the meadows and commanded a wide panoramic view of the encircling hills , from Remilly to Frenois . Weiss , with the sense of responsibility of his new proprietorship strong upon him , had spent the night in burying his provisions in the cellar and protecting his furniture , as far as possible , against shot and shell by applying mattresses to the windows , so that it was nearly two o'clock before he got to bed . His blood boiled at the idea that the Prussians might come and plunder the house , for which he had toiled so long and which had as yet afforded him so little enjoyment . He heard a voice summoning him from the street . `` I say , Weiss , are you awake ? ''