ten minutes past nine in the evening
At this both burst out laughing , and he , delighted at having hit upon a subject of conversation , questioned her about her adventure , without , however , feeling inquisitive , for he cared little about discovering the real truth , and was only intent upon prolonging the sitting . Christine simply , and in a few words , related what had befallen her . Early on the previous morning she had left Clermont for Paris , where she was to take up a situation as reader and companion to the widow of a general , Madame Vanzade , a rich old lady , who lived at Passy . The train was timed to reach Paris at ten minutes past nine in the evening , and a maid was to meet her at the station . They had even settled by letter upon a means of recognition . She was to wear a black hat with a grey feather in it . But , a little above Nevers , her train had come upon a goods train which had run off the rails , its litter of smashed trucks still obstructing the line .