midnight
But if the minutes had hitherto appeared endless , they now crept on with quite intolerable slowness . He scarcely heard or saw anything that was taking place about him . The rajah who had the next place to him tried in vain to open a conversation in his broken English , and at last , shaking his head , abandoned the silent stranger to his musings , which in the middle of this riotous festivity must certainly have appeared very strange to him . Shortly before midnight , before Prince Tchajawadse and his other comrades thought of moving , Heideck once more left the state tent of the Maharajah and turned his steps towards the Russian camp , which was far away visible in the red glare of the bivouac fires , around which the loudest merriment was also taking place . In reality he entertained very little hope that the Circassian would be able to fulfil her bold promise , for what she had taken upon herself appeared to him to be absolutely impracticable . Yet his heart throbbed wildly when he thrust back the linen sheet that covered the entrance of the tent which had been assigned to him . On the folding-table in the middle of the little room were two lighted candles beside a burning lantern .