midnight
And if not he -- who then ? His mind went back bitterly to the old days of the conspiracy -- to the inception of that struggle which was bearing such ghastly fruit . He thought of his traitorous wife , until he felt his cheeks tingle , and he was fain to avert his eyes from those of his prostrate comrades , in a strange fear that , with the clairvoyance of dying men , they should read his secret . It was past midnight when , without undressing , he threw himself upon his bed in the little convent-like cell to snatch a few moments of sleep . Its spotless , peaceful walls and draperies affected him strangely , as if he had brought into its immaculate serenity the sanguine stain of war . He was awakened suddenly from a deep slumber by an indefinite sense of alarm . His first thought was that he had been summoned to repel an attack .