eight o'clock
It was she who led him through the shades ; it was her voice murmuring in his ear . When the first gray dawn began to creep in slowly perceptible waves into the room , Elsmere felt as though not hours but years of experience lay between him and the beginnings of his watch . ` It is by these moments we should date our lives , ' he murmured to himself as he rose ; ` they are the only real landmarks . ' It was eight o'clock , and the nurse who was to relieve him had come . The results of the night for his charge were good : the strength had been maintained , the pulse was firmer , the temperature lower . The boy , throwing off his drowsiness , lay watching the rector 's face as he talked in an undertone to the nurse , his haggard eyes full of a dumb friendly wistfulness . When Robert bent over him to say good-bye , this expression brightened into something more positive , and Robert left him , feeling at last that there was a promise of life in his look and touch .