nine o'clock
The whole nation , it seemed , stood before the walls , awaiting , with bated breath and dismal faces , the announcement that Yetive had deeded to Bolaroz the lands and lives of half of her subjects . The northern plainsmen who were so soon to acknowledge Axphain sovereignty , wept and wailed over their unhappy lot . Brothers and sisters from the south cursed and moaned in sympathy . Shortly before nine o'clock , Harry Anguish , with his guard of six , rode up to the castle . Captain Dangloss was beside him on his gray charger . They had scarcely passed inside the gates when a cavalcade of mounted men came riding up the avenue from the Hotel Regengetz . Then the howling , the hissing , the hooting began .