midnight
Poor fellow-victim ! Was it a tortured conscience that drove him hither and thither , or was he as innocent as she was , and was it longing , love , and anxiety that bereft him of sleep ? He was no vulgar criminal . There was no room for those in this part of the building ; and at midnight , when the noise in the large hall was suddenly silenced , soft sounds of the lute came down to her from his cell , and only a master could strike the strings with such skill . She cared nothing for the stranger ; but she was grateful for his gift of music , for it diverted her thoughts from herself , and she listened with growing interest . Glad of an excuse for rising from her hard , hot bed , she sprang up and placed herself close to the one window , an opening barred with iron . But then the music ceased and a conversation began between the warder and her fellow-prisoner .