four in the morning
He spoke fluent , but faulty , French , which attracted Suzanne , and , being abnormally muscular and active , in an amazingly short time got hold of all their boxes and bags and ranged them on the counter . He then indulged in a dramatic performance , which he apparently considered likely to rouse into life and attention the two unshaven men in smocks , who were smoking cigarettes , and staring vaguely at the metal sheet on which the luggage was placed to be weighed . Suzanne remained expectantly in attendance , and Domini , having nothing to do , and seeing no bench to rest on , walked slowly up and down the hall near the entrance . It was now half-past four in the morning , and in the air Domini fancied that she felt the cold breath of the coming dawn . Beyond the opening of the station , as she passed and repassed in her slow and aimless walk , she saw the soaking tarpaulin curtains of the carriage she had just left glistening in the faint lamp-light . After a few minutes the Arabs she had noticed on the road entered . Their brown , slipperless feet were caked with sticky mud , and directly they found themselves under shelter in a dry place they dropped the robes they had been holding up , and , bending down , began to flick it off on to the floor with their delicate fingers .