Two o'clock in the morning
`` Seize him , your Excellency ! '' shouted one of the troopers . `` Those are my revolvers he has , and they are not loaded . '' Two o'clock in the morning , on the king 's highway , and a small body of horse making progress . The moon was beginning to roll away toward the west , but the world was still frost-white , and the broad road stretched out like a silver ribbon before the horsemen , until it was lost in the blue mist of the forests . The troop consisted of ten men , two of whom rode with their hands tied behind their backs and their feet fastened under the bellies of the horses . The troop was not conspicuous for this alone .