noon
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 ! '' said she . Nothing more was heard , after that , but the hasty ticking of the little ormolu clock , as its hands traveled steadily around the circle . Bressant jumped on to the platform of the newly-arrived train .