noon
With lips compressed in an agony he could neither analyze nor conquer , he turned slowly back into the dimly lighted room . Two torches burned on either side of the throne and threw unsteady shadows among the glittering pillars . They lit up his face and revealed it as that of a man who has cast his youth behind him for ever . Only a few months had passed since he had sat there with Travers in the full noon of his hope and enthusiasm . He remembered the scene with a clearness which was a fresh torture . The hopes that had been built up in that hour lay shattered , the woman for whom they had been built was lost . He thought of her now as he always thought of her , as he knew he would think of her to the end .