noon
The Scarlet Pimpernel in his power ! At any point on the road he could deliver him up to the nearest guard ... then still hold the Clamettes and demand the papers ... `` Too late , my dear Monsieur Chambertin ! '' Sir Percy 's mocking voice broke in , as if divining his thoughts . `` You do not know where to find my friend Ffoulkes , and at noon to-morrow , if I do not arrive to claim those papers , there will not be a single ragamuffin in Paris who will not be crying your shame and that of your precious colleagues upon the housetops . '' Chauvelin 's whole nervous system was writhing with the feeling of impotence . Mechanically , unresisting now , he followed his enemy down the main staircase of the chateau and out through the wide open gates . He could not bring himself to believe that he had been so completely foiled , that this impudent adventurer had him once more in the hollow of his hand .