ten o'clock
Without heeding the strangers present Dominique took and grasped in his the two hands she extended to him , as if to put herself under his protection . The captain smiled again but said not a word . He remained seated , his sword across his knees and his eyes plunged into space , lost in a reverie . It was already ten o'clock . The heat had become very great . A heavy silence prevailed . In the courtyard , in the shadows of the sheds , the soldiers had begun to eat their soup .