about two o'clock
Suddenly a single cannon-shot rang out , ear-rending , adding fresh terror to the dead silence that succeeded it . It froze her very marrow ; what could it mean ? A signal , doubtless , telling of the successful completion of some movement , announcing that everything was ready , down there , and that now the sun might rise . It was about two o'clock when Henriette , forgetting even to close her window , at last threw herself , fully dressed , upon her bed . Her anxiety and fatigue had stupefied her and benumbed her faculties . What could ail her , thus to shiver and burn alternately , she who was always so calm and self-reliant , moving with so light a step that those about her were unconscious of her existence ? Finally she sank into a fitful , broken slumber that brought with it no repose , in which was present still that persistent sensation of impending evil that filled the dusky heavens .