nine o'clock
Seven o'clock , eight o'clock , struck successively . D'Harmental and his companions saw with pleasure the night approaching , and the darkness falling more and more dense and black around them ; two or three carriages had already given false alarms , but had had no other effect than preparing them for the real attack . At half-past eight the night was pitch-dark , and a sort of natural fear , which the conspirators had felt at first , began to change into impatience . At nine o'clock they thought they could distinguish sounds . D'Avranches lay down , with his ear to the ground , and distinctly heard the rolling of a carriage . At that instant they saw , at about a thousand paces from the angle of the road , a point of light like a star ; the conspirators trembled with excitement , it was evidently the outrider with his torch . There was soon no doubt -- they saw the carriage with its two lanterns .