six
o’clock
There they sat , sometimes smoking , never speaking , while the tedious afternoon wore away , and the shadows from the trees of the forest lengthened . They did not think of eating or drinking ; they did not move , save when James rose and lit a little fire of brushwood in the grate . It grew dusk and again James moved to light the lamp . It was hard on six o'clock , and still no news came from Strelsau . Then there was the sound of a horse 's hoofs . The two rushed to the door , beyond it , and far along the grassy road that gave approach to the hunting-lodge . They forgot to guard the secret and the door gaped open behind them .