five o'clock
I can never sleep till I have breathed fresh air . '' They parted accordingly , Courtney going to his room , and David to the stables , whence he presently issued , mounted on his bay mare , and rode eastward . On his way he passed Colonel Saltine 's house , and drew rein for a moment beside it , looking up at Edith 's window . It was between four and five o'clock of a morning in early April ; the sky was clear , and all was still and peaceful . As he sat in the saddle looking up , the blind of the window was raised and the sash itself opened , and Edith , in her white night-dress , with her heavy brown hair falling round her face and on her shoulders , gazed out . She regarded him with a half-bewildered expression , as if doubting of his reality , For a moment they remained thus ; then he waved his hand to her with a wild gesture of farewell , and rode on , passing immediately out of sight behind the dark foliage of the cedar of Lebanon . On reaching the London high-road the horseman paused once more , and seemed to hesitate what course to pursue ; but finally he turned to the right , and rode in a southerly direction .