one o'clock
At an early hour Don Vigilio , the secretary , who by the Cardinal 's express orders kept the key of the box , would come down , find the note , and hand it to his Eminence , who never allowed another to open any communication addressed to him . And then the figs would be thrown away , there would be no further possibility of crime , the black world would in all prudence keep silent . But if the note should not be in the letter-box , what would happen then ? And admitting that supposition he pictured the figs placed on the table at the one o'clock meal , in their pretty little leaf-covered basket . Dario would be there as usual , alone with his uncle , since he was not to leave for Naples till the evening . And would both the uncle and the nephew eat the figs , or would only one of them partake of the fruit , and which of them would that be ? At this point Prada 's clearness of vision failed him ; again he conjured up Destiny on the march , that Destiny which he had met on the road from Frascati , going on towards its unknown goal , athwart all obstacles without possibility of stoppage .