nearly nine o'clock
No one talked , and presently Fafann began to snore . The girl 's eyes met Si Maïeddine 's , and they smiled at each other . This made him seem to her more like an ordinary human being than he had seemed before . After a while , she dropped into a doze , and was surprised when she waked up , to find that it was nearly nine o'clock . Fafann had roused her by moving about , collecting bundles . Soon they would be `` there . '' And as the train slowed down , Victoria saw that `` there '' was Bouira .