midnight
He flung his arm round her waist in a way so many poor girls had found irresistible . For a minute or two he looked in her dark splendid eyes ; but then as he bent lightly to kiss her , she tore herself from him with a cry and ran away into the darkness . He slept heavily that night , the dead sleep of a man who has hunted all day and has drunk deep in the evening . In the morning he awoke sick and sorry , a strange mood for Robert Molyneux ; but from midnight to dawn he had lain with the death-spancel about his knees . In the blackness of his mind he had a great longing for the sweet woman , his love for whom awakened all that was good in him . His horse had fallen lame , but after breakfast he asked his host to order out a carriage that he might go to her . Once with her he thought all would be well .