midnight
The whole space in which the wounded men lay went dark , and the wild free wind and the cruel driving rain beat at the window . In the black darkness voices spoke here and there . There were notes of fever from wounded men , and once or twice there was a last message whispered to a nurse 's ear , never to be delivered . Dark and storm , and the heroic long-suffering soul released from the heroic long-suffering body , and going home at midnight . Sick men who have been half-starved for a year or two , and who have run through every note of the gamut of emotion , may be quicker to appreciate these influences than common people are : but Polson Jervase , lying on his back and staring upwards in a futile endeavour to trace the semi-circular ring of smoke upon the ceiling , felt them all deeply . Whilst he lay there , staring upwards , there was a sudden patter of bare feet on the bare floor at his side , and a hand clutched him . ` Look here , ' said Major de Blacquaire , and even in his half dream he knew the voice instantly , as if he had been wide awake and the room had lain in broad daylight .