eight o'clock
Just as she turned into it she cast her eyes to the right , and there , some two hundred paces from her , beheld her house in a blaze . The flames were invisible against the bright sunlight ; the roof had already fallen in in part , the windows were belching dense clouds of black smoke . She could restrain herself no longer , and ran with all her strength . Ever since eight o'clock Weiss , abandoned by the retiring troops , had been a self-made prisoner there . His return to Sedan had become an impossibility , for the Bavarians , immediately upon the withdrawal of the French , had swarmed down from the park of Montivilliers and occupied the road . He was alone and defenseless , save for his musket and what few cartridges were left him , when he beheld before his door a little band of soldiers , ten in number , abandoned , like himself , and parted from their comrades , looking about them for a place where they might defend themselves and sell their lives dearly . He ran downstairs to admit them , and thenceforth the house had a garrison , a lieutenant , corporal and eight men , all bitterly inflamed against the enemy , and resolved never to surrender .