midday
He worked a good hour or more without result , came down to her , and found her in a deep sleep . As he noiselessly left her , he wondered how many men could have slept peacefully in such a case as hers . Once more he took the heavy bar , and toiled on , but he felt that his strength was failing fast for want of food . He had eaten nothing since midday , and had not even drunk water , and in six hours he had done as much hard work as two ordinary workmen could have accomplished in a day . With a certain amount of rest , he could still go on , but a quarter of an hour would no longer be enough . He was very thirsty , too , but though he might have drunk his fill from the hollow of his hand , he could not yet bring himself to taste the water . He was afraid that he might be driven to it before long , but he would resist as long as he could .