ten o'clock
Was he not obliged to put Florence to sleep in order to prevent her from recognizing the landscape at Alençon and Damigni , or the Old Castle , which she had explored with Gaston Sauverand ? On the other hand , the Le Mans-Angers-Nantes route , which had been taken to put the police on a false track , meant only an extra hour or two , at most , for any one motoring to Alençon . Lastly , that coach-house near a big town , that limousine waiting , ready charged with petrol , showed that the villain , when he intended to visit his retreat , took the precaution of stopping at Le Mans , in order to go from there , in his limousine , to Langernault 's deserted estate . He would therefore reach his lair at ten o'clock that morning . And he would arrive there with Florence Levasseur dead asleep ! The question forced itself upon him , the terrible persistent question -- what did he mean to do with Florence Levasseur ? `` Faster !