midnight
Oh , strangely sounded that sacred song arising in the deep silence of the condemned cell . So the night passed there . But how did it pass in the viscount 's cell ? Sleeplessly , anxiously , wretchedly , until long after midnight , when he fell asleep . He was awakened by a sound of sawing , dragging , and hammering , that seemed to be in the prison yard beneath his windows . It continued a long time , and effectually banished slumber from his weary eyes . What could they be doing at that unusual hour ?