After another long and almost unendurable period he opened them once more, and it seemed to him that there was a faint tint of gray in the east.

He sat up, and looking a long time, he was sure of it.

The gray was deepening and broadening, and at its center it showed a tint of silver.

The dawn was at hand, and every nerve in the boy's body thrilled with excitement and apprehension.
A murmur and a shuffling sound arose all around him.

The sleepers were awake, and they stood up, thousands of them.