About eleven o’clock
All the houses were lighted up , and all the doors open , affording a view of the interior of the primitive dwellings , of the artisans busy at their work , of the dealers plying their trade , of the housewives occupied with their domestic affairs . Evidently the inhabitants troubled no more about the war than about the terrible scourge of the Indian population -- the plague . The despatch announcing the victory , although no doubt it was known in the native quarter , had evidently not made the slightest impression . About eleven o'clock Heideck returned to the hotel , where he found the Kennedys and Edith still conversing eagerly on the terrace . `` Of course we shall not leave now , '' he declared . `` As soon as the Russians have evacuated the north , we shall return to Simla . '' Heideck made no remark , and since the openly expressed and heartfelt joy of the English affected him painfully , he soon took leave of them , and went up to his room , which , like Edith 's , was on the second storey .