midnight
Duroy having sighed out the words , `` Poor fellow , '' she , too , gave a long sigh of heartrending resignation . They did not look at the body so often now , already accustomed to the idea of it , and beginning to mentally consent to the decease which but a short time back had shocked and angered them -- them who were mortals , too . They no longer spoke , continuing to keep watch in befitting fashion without going to sleep . But towards midnight Duroy dozed off the first . When he woke up he saw that Madame Forestier was also slumbering , and having shifted to a more comfortable position , he reclosed his eyes , growling : `` Confound it all , it is more comfortable between the sheets all the same . '' A sudden noise made him start up . The nurse was entering the room .