noon
So he sleeps equally well under the coarse canvas of a tent or the roof of a clear cold sky ; he pays no rent , he owns no master , and he believes that , of all the inhabitants of earth , he alone is free . And now a figure rises from amongst the low dusky tents , and comes out into the light of the clear starry sky , and looks steadfastly towards the east as if watching for the dawn , and turns a fevered cheek to the soft night air , as yet not fresh and cold enough to promise the approach of day . It is the figure of a woman past the prime of life , nay , verging upon age , but who retains all the majesty and some remains of the beauty which distinguished her in bygone days ; who even now owns none of the decay of strength or infirmity of gait which usually accompanies the advance of years , but who looks , as she always did , born to command , and not yet incapable of enforcing obedience to her behests . It is none other than the Zingynie queen who prophesied the future of Victor de Rohan when he was a laughing golden-haired child ; whose mind is anxious and ill at ease for the sake of her darling now , and who draws her hood further over her head , binds her crimson handkerchief tighter on her brows , and looks once more with anxious glance towards the sky , as she mutters -- `` Three hours to dawn , and then six more till noon ; and once , girl , thou wast light-footed and untiring as the deer . Girl ! '' and she laughs a short , bitter laugh . `` Well , no matter -- girl , or woman , or aged crone , the heart is always the same ; and I will save him -- save him , for the sake of the strong arm and the fair , frank face that have been mouldering for years in the grave ! ''