midnight
He did not know that she was seated behind it in a deep chair , wrapped in white things , and listening for him against the beatings of her heart . The large moon seemed to be spiked on the sharp spire of the church that is near her house , and the black shadows cut the white light as clean as with a knife . Nino had tuned his guitar in the other street , and stood ready , waiting for the clocks to strike . Presently they clanged out wildly , as though they had been waked from their midnight sleep , and were angry ; one clock answering the other , and one convent bell following another in the call to prayers . For two full minutes the whole air was crazy with ringing , and then it was all still . Nino struck a single chord . Hedwig almost thought he might hear her heart beating all the way down the street .