two o'clock in the morning
It was like a cold hand pressing upon the brow , a hand that touched the eyes , the nose , the mouth , then remained , a chill weight upon the head ; the blood seemed to stop in its course , one 's heart beat feebly , and things were dim before one 's eyes . One was stupid and chose one 's words slowly , looking at people closely to see whether one really knew them , even unsure about oneself , one 's history , one 's future ; neither hungry , tired , nor thirsty , neither sad nor joyful , neither excited nor dull , only with the cold hand upon one 's brow , catching -LRB- with troubled breath -RRB- the beating of one 's heart . In normal times the night-duty was of course taken in rotation , but during the pressure of these four days we had to snatch our rest when we might . About midnight on the fifth day the procession of wounded suddenly slackened , and by two o'clock in the morning had ceased entirely . The two nurses went to bed leaving Nikitin , myself , and some sleepy sanitars alone . The little room was empty of all wounded , they having been removed to the tent on the farther side of the road . The candles had sunk deep into the bottles and were spluttering in a sea of grease .