midnight
Send Jeremie to Corentin -- no , stay , the wretch would follow me -- send to the commandant ; ask him from me for some six-franc crowns . '' With the feminine sagacity which takes in the smallest detail , she thought of everything . While Francine was completing the arrangements for this extraordinary trip , Marie practised the art of imitating an owl , and so far succeeded in rivalling Marche-a-Terre that the illusion was a good one . At midnight she left Fougeres by the gate of Saint-Leonard , took the little path to Nid-aux-Crocs , and started , followed by Francine , to cross the Val de Gibarry with a firm step , under the impulse of that strong will which gives to the body and its bearing such an expression of force . To leave a ball-room with sufficient care to avoid a cold is an important affair to the health of a woman ; but let her have a passion in her heart , and her body becomes adamant . Such an enterprise as Marie had now undertaken would have floated in a bold man 's mind for a long time ; but Mademoiselle de Verneuil had no sooner thought of it than its dangers became to her attractions . `` You are starting without asking God to bless you , '' said Francine , turning to look at the tower of Saint-Leonard .