about four o'clock
You remember Joseph de Raudeville well , of course . `` Well , on that day my captain ordered me to take six troopers and occupy the village of Porterin , where there had been five fights in three weeks , and to hold it all night . There were not twenty houses left standing , nay , not a dozen , in that wasp 's nest . So I took ten troopers , and set out at about four o'clock ; at five o'clock , while it was still pitch dark , we reached the first houses of Porterin . I halted and ordered Marchas -- you know Pierre de Marchas , who afterward married little Martel-Auvelin , the daughter of the Marquis de Martel-Auvelin -- to go alone into the village and to report to me what he saw . `` I had chosen nothing but volunteers , and all of good family . When on service it is pleasant not to be forced into intimacy with unpleasant fellows .