midnight
And in the blackness , Desmond worked as he had never worked before , plying his saw hour after hour , never forgetting his caution , running no risks when he had warning of the sentry 's approach . And hour after hour the shower of sawdust fell noiselessly into Babu 's outspread dhoti . Then suddenly the beating of the tom tom ceased , the singer 's voice died away on a lingering wail , and the silence of the night was unbroken save by the melancholy howl of a distant jackal , and the call of sentry to sentry as at intervals they went their rounds . At midnight the guard was relieved . The newcomer -- a tall , thin , lanky Maratha -- arriving at Desmond 's shed , put his head in at the little window space , and flashed his lantern from left to right more carefully than the man whom he had just replaced . The nine forms lay flat or curled up on their charpoys -- all was well . Coming back an hour later , he fancied he heard a slight sound within the shed .