Eleven o'clock
Cornelia sat brooding with folded arms , and the feverish spots on her cheeks . Occasionally she restlessly varied her position , seldom allowing her eyes to stray around the room , however , save that once in a while they sought Sophie 's colorless , ethereal face , as a thirsty soul the water . The professor stood much at the window , and once or twice he imagined he caught a glimpse , somewhere down the road , of a darkly-clad woman 's figure ; but she never came nearer , and he decided it must be a hallucination of his fading eyes . Eleven o'clock struck from the little ormolu timepiece . A few moments afterward Sophie stirred slightly as she lay , and the professor and Cornelia listened breathlessly for what she would say . She lifted her heavy lids , and turned her eyes , a little dimmer now than heretofore , but steady and confident , first on her father , then on her sister . `` Till noon -- remember ! ''