Midnight
He came to that thought not by way of his own peril , but of Mademoiselle 's ; which affected him in so novel a fashion that he wondered at his folly . At last , tired of watching the shadows which the draught set dancing on the wall , he drew his cloak about him and lay down on the straw . He had kept vigil the previous night , and in a few minutes , with a campaigner 's ease , he was asleep . Midnight had struck . About two the light in the lanthorn burned low in the socket , and with a soft sputtering went out . For an hour after that the room lay still , silent , dark ; then slowly the grey dawn , the greyer for the river mist which wrapped the neighbourhood in a clammy shroud , began to creep into the room and discover the vague shapes of things . Again an hour passed , and the sun was rising above Montreuil , and here and there the river began to shimmer through the fog .