four o'clock
the assurance , the comfort of the divine promise which dispels the awful mists of death ! While the priest performed the sacred rites , and his low words mingled with the sighs of the dying woman , Samuel Chapdelaine and his children were praying with bended heads ; in some sort consoled , released from anxiousness and doubt , confident that a sure pact was then concluding with the Almighty for the blue skies of Paradise spangled with stars of gold as a rightful heritage . Afterwards the cure warmed himself by the stove ; then they prayed together for a time , kneeling by the bed . Toward four o'clock the wind leaped to the south-east , and the storm ended swiftly as a broken wave sinks backward from the shore ; in the strange deep silence after the tumult the mother sighed , sighed once again , and died . EPHREM SURPRENANT pushed open the door and stood upon the threshold . `` I have come . '' He found no other words , and waited there motionless for a few seconds , tongue-tied , while his eyes travelled from Chapdelaine to Maria , from Maria to the children who sat very still and quiet by the table ; then he plucked off his cap hastily , as if in amends for his forgetfulness , shut the door behind him and moved across to the bed where the dead woman lay .