six in the evening
This combat excited more interest than all the duels that had preceded it ; the crowd almost broke down the barriers , and the cheering and cries of encouragement could be heard upon the hills . Thrice the combatants rested from the engagement , and thrice at the trumpet call started again to meet each other , at least those who had sustained the first onslaught . Blood , indeed , was not shed -LRB- for the iron morions saved their skulls -RRB- , but nearly half of the number required assistance to reach the tents pitched for their use . Then came more feasting , the final dinner prolonged till six in the evening , when the company , constantly rising from their seats , cheered the Baron , and drank to the prosperity of the house . After the horn blew at six , the guests who had come from a distance rapidly dispersed -LRB- their horses were already waiting -RRB- , for they were anxious to pass the fifteen miles of forest before nightfall . Those on foot , and those ladies who had come in covered waggons , stayed till next morning , as they could not travel so speedily . By seven or eight the castle courtyard was comparatively empty , and the Baron , weary from the mere bodily efforts of saying farewell to so many , had flung himself at full length on a couch in the drawing-room .