midnight
The evening before guests had come to the lodge his excellency the Lord Justice Wigelois von Wolfstein , and Master Besserer of Ulm . Now we had to make ready in all haste for dinner , and never had Ann made such careful and diligent use of our little mirror . As it fell , we could be alone together for a few minutes only , and had no chance of speaking to each other privily . This was likewise the case at table , and then , as my uncle had prepared for a hunt in the afternoon , in honor of his guests , and as the supper afterwards lasted until midnight , the not over-strong thread of my good patience was not seldom in danger of giving way . But many things were going forward which gave me matter for thought , and increased the distress I already felt . Ann threw herself into the sport with all her heart , and on the way back fell behind with Herdegen in such wise that they did not reach home till long after the door closed on the last of us . At supper she nodded to me many times with much contentment ; except for that I might have been buried for aught she noted , for she hearkened only to Herdegen 's tales as though they were a revelation from above .