twelve o'clock
`` We did it very nicely , '' agreed the other , with a brave effort to equal the American 's unconcern . Nevertheless , he said to himself many times before they reached the broad Boulevard Anspach , that never had he taken such `` a stroll , '' and never had he known how little difference there was between a steam and a human propeller . He almost forgot , as they sat at a small , table in front of a cafe , to institute his diplomatic search for the real object of the American 's presence in Brussels . It was twelve o'clock when they returned to the hotel , after a rather picturesque evening in the gay cafes . Here is what the keen little Italian deduced : Quentin was to remain in Brussels until he took a notion to go somewhere else ; Quentin had seen the prince driving on the Paris boulevards ; the Bois de la Cambre offers every attraction to a man who enjoys driving ; the American slept with a revolver near his pillow , and his manservant had killed six or seven men in the United States because of his marvellous skill with the pistol ; Quentin was a most unsophisticated young man , with honesty and innocence in his frank eyes , although they sometimes grew rather searching ; he could only be overcome by cunning ; he was in love with Miss Garrison . Quentin 's conclusions : Laselli was a liar and an ass ; Prince Ugo would be in Brussels within ten days ; he was careless with the hearts of women and cruel with their love ; French detectives are the best in the world , the most infallible ; Miss Garrison loved the very ground the prince trod upon . He also discovered that the duke could drink wine as a fish drinks water , and that he seldom made overtures to pay for it until his companion had the money in hand , ready to do so .