six
in the morning
He already knew that the mail was due at Mâcon at half past four , waited for the travellers to dine , and started again punctually at five . No doubt all his plans were previously laid , for , after giving these directions , Montbar dismissed his servant and went to sleep like a man who has long arrears of slumber to make up . The next morning he did not wake , or rather did not come downstairs until nine o'clock . He asked casually what had become of his noisy neighbor , and was told that he had started in the Lyons mail at six in the morning , with his friend the colonel of the Chasseurs ; but the landlord thought they had only engaged places as far as Tonnerre . If Monsieur de Jayat had interested himself in the young officer , the latter , in turn , had made inquiries about him , asking who he was , whether he came habitually to the hotel , and whether he would be willing to sell his horse . The landlord had replied that he knew Monsieur de Jayat well , for he was in the habit of coming to the hotel whenever business brought him to Mâcon , and that , as for the horse , he did not believe , considering the affection the young gentleman showed for the animal , that he would consent to part with him for any price . On which the traveller had departed without saying any more .