Three o'clock
My doubts increase , like shadows encroaching more and more on some bright space ; my fears multiply ; and the uncertainty becomes every moment more painful to me ! It is necessary for me to decide to-day , and before the evening ! I hold the dice of my future fate in my hands , and I dare not throw them . Three o'clock . -- The sky has become cloudy , and a cold wind begins to blow from the west ; all the windows which were opened to the sunshine of a beautiful day are shut again . Only on the opposite side of the street , the lodger on the last story has not yet left his balcony . One knows him to be a soldier by his regular walk , his gray moustaches , and the ribbon that decorates his buttonhole .