eleven
o'clock
But strange little Pierre said that the place was brighter than the sun , and that lovely faces were smiling at him . Ninon , however , saw nothing , and it was dark indeed to her , and she sobbed bitterly , and called on her mother and lover for help . But only stony-hearted Laval and his accomplices heard her girlish voice . A bell in one of the towers slowly tolled out eleven o'clock . A little later the door of their cell opened , and light streamed in . Two men in hideous masks seized them , and carried them up and up , till Ninon , in horror , thought that they were to be thrown from the top of the tower . But worse than that awaited them ; for soon they entered a large circular room , in which , on a sort of throne , sat a dreadful-looking man , clad in sable .