midday
But this suggestion made casually by some one was unanswered and almost unnoticed . Some of those present may perhaps have inwardly noticed it , only to reflect that the anticipation of decay and corruption from the body of such a saint was an actual absurdity , calling for compassion -LRB- if not a smile -RRB- for the lack of faith and the frivolity it implied . For they expected something quite different . And , behold , soon after midday there were signs of something , at first only observed in silence by those who came in and out and were evidently each afraid to communicate the thought in his mind . But by three o'clock those signs had become so clear and unmistakable , that the news swiftly reached all the monks and visitors in the hermitage , promptly penetrated to the monastery , throwing all the monks into amazement , and finally , in the shortest possible time , spread to the town , exciting every one in it , believers and unbelievers alike . The unbelievers rejoiced , and as for the believers some of them rejoiced even more than the unbelievers , for `` men love the downfall and disgrace of the righteous , '' as the deceased elder had said in one of his exhortations . The fact is that a smell of decomposition began to come from the coffin , growing gradually more marked , and by three o'clock it was quite unmistakable .