About an hour before
noon
And so , when she came hither , and wrought such cures , and brought blessing wherever she went , it became a saying among us that at length we had our true Lady of Hope . A more urgent summons here forced Berenger away , and his repetition of the same question received much the same answer from deaf old Captain Falconnet . He was obliged to repair to his post with merely a piece of bread in his hand ; abut , though vigilance was needful , the day bade fair to be far less actively occupied than its predecessor : the enemy were either disposed to turn the siege into a blockade , or were awaiting reinforcements and heavier artillery ; and there were only a few desultory attacks in the early part of the morning . About an hour before noon , however , the besiegers seemed to be drawing out in arms , as if to receive some person of rank , and at the same time sounds were heard on the hills to the eastward , as if troops were on the march . Berenger having just been told by the old sergeant that probably all would be quiet for some time longer , and been almost laughed at by the veteran for consulting him whether it would be permissible for him to be absent a few minutes to visit his brother , was setting out across the bridge for the purpose , his eyes in the direction of the rampart , which followed the curve of the river . The paths which -- as has been said -- the feet of the washerwomen and drawers of water had worn away in quieter times , had been smoothed and scarped away on the outer side , so as to come to an abrupt termination some feet above the gay marigolds , coltsfoot , and other spring flowers that smiled by the water-side . Suddenly he beheld on the rampart a tiny gray and white figure , fearlessly trotting , or rather dancing , along the summit and the men around him exclaimed , ` The little moonbeam child ! '