midnight
Home of the Foreign Legion ; home perhaps , of Sanda DeLisle ! ... * * * * * It was all over , then . The blow had fallen , and Max thought that he must be stunned by it , for he felt nothing , except a curious thrill which came with the news that he must go to Sidi-bel-Abbés . The Arab name rang in his ears like the sound of bells -- fateful bells that chime at midnight for birth or death . It seemed to him that Something had always been waiting , hidden behind a corner of life , calling him to Sidi-bel-Abbés , calling for good or evil , for sorrow or happiness , who could tell ? but calling . And his whole past , with its fun and popularity and gay adventure , its one unfinished love story , its one tragic episode , had been a long road leading him on toward this day -- and Sidi-bel-Abbés .