midnight
Esther kept her seat ; but Iras arose , and gave him a smile and a wave of her fan -- favors not the less intoxicating to him because we know , O reader , they would have fallen to Messala had he been the victor . The procession was then formed , and , midst the shouting of the multitude which had had its will , passed out of the Gate of Triumph . And the day was over . Ben-Hur tarried across the river with Ilderim ; for at midnight , as previously determined , they would take the road which the caravan , then thirty hours out , had pursued . The sheik was happy ; his offers of gifts had been royal ; but Ben-Hur had refused everything , insisting that he was satisfied with the humiliation of his enemy . The generous dispute was long continued . `` Think , '' the sheik would say , `` what thou hast done for me .