eleven o'clock
Pina and Ortensia were in prison together from ten o'clock at night till seven every morning , and the girl could not leave her own room without passing Pina . To the Senator 's insufficient imagination two things were out of the question ; he was convinced that no one could get up into the loggia from below , and he was persuaded that Pina , unswerving in her devotion to his interests and honour , would guard Ortensia as jealously as the dragon guarded the Golden Fleece . Moreover , as to getting in by the window , a man would first have to get access to the walled garden below , which Pignaver regarded as another impossibility , for the wall was high , he himself kept the key of the postern that opened on the canal , and the gardener entered through the house . Nevertheless Stradella was standing in the loggia at eleven o'clock ; Ortensia was sure he was there , and at midnight she was still lying on her back , staring up at the canopy , with outstretched hands that clutched the edges of the bed on each side . Her idea of what was possible was quite different from her uncle 's ; the one thing which seemed to her out of the question was that she should lie where she was much longer , and she only succeeded by giving herself the illusion that her own hands held her down by main force . By and by they would be tired , she supposed , and then she would have to go to him . She held fast and listened , hoping to hear the bells again , as if an hour could slip by as in a moment while she was awake ; and suddenly she started , and one hand left its hold , for she heard a noise at her own window , a sharp tap , followed by another and another .