about three o’clock
The Polish doctor had meanwhile discovered the theft , and he instantly changed his opinion of his clients . He now thought the old man had come to rob him , and being unable to succeed , had sent the boy . He doubted the rank they had claimed , and went straight to the police-office where he lodged a complaint , requesting that the lad might be arrested at once . The prudence with which the law proceeds seldom allows it to move as rapidly as complainants desire ; but about three o'clock of that day a commissary of police , accompanied by agents who kept watch outside the house , was questioning Madame Vauthier as to her lodgers , and the widow was increasing , without being aware of it , the suspicions of the policeman . When Nepomucene saw the police agents stationed outside the house , he thought they had come to arrest the old man , and as he was fond of Monsieur Auguste , he rushed to meet Monsieur Bernard , whom he now saw on his way home in the avenue de l'Observatoire . `` Hide yourself , monsieur ! '' he cried , `` the police have come to arrest you .