morning,
noon
`` We will determine this matter for ourselves . We have a score of brave , well-paid Italians who may be able to protect our person from the onslaught of two manacled men . '' * * * * * On this same morning the guard had been to my cell with bread and water , and had departed . I did not know , of course , whether it was morning , noon , or night , but I had learned to measure with some degree of accuracy the lapse of time between the visits of the guard , and was surprised to hear the rusty lock turn long before the time for his reappearance . When the man entered my cell , bearing his lantern , he said : -- `` Come with me . '' The words were both welcome and terrible . I could not know their meaning -- whether it was liberty or death .