midnight
And in fact she seemed to need it ; for some minutes she had looked very pale and exhausted , and her hands trembled as she drew her handkerchief across her face . When she was seated she began her story ; and while her words flowed on quickly but without expression , as though she spoke mechanically , Orion listened with eager interest , for what she had to tell struck him as highly significant and important . He had been watched by the patriarch 's orders . By midnight Benjamin had already been informed of Orion 's visit to Fostat , and to the Arab general . Nothing , however , had been said about it beyond a fear lest he had gone thither with a view to abjuring the faith of his fathers and going over to the Infidels . Far more important were the facts Orion gathered as to the prelate 's negotiations with the Khaliff 's representative . Amru had urged a reduction of the number of convents and of the monks and nuns who lived on the bequests and gifts of the pious , busied in all kinds of handiwork according to the rule of Pachomius , and enabled , by the fact of their living at free quarters , to produce almost all the necessaries of life , from the mats on the floors to the shoes worn by the citizens , at a much lower price than the independent artisans , whether in town or country .