six o’clock
`` The director of the jury , '' he said , `` has contented himself with merely visiting the place , less for the purpose of making a careful examination than to trap Michu in a lie ; this , in our opinion , was a failure of duty , but the blunder is to our advantage . '' On this the Court appointed experts to examine the posts and see if one of them had been really mended and reset . The public prosecutor , on his side , endeavored to make capital of the affair before the experts could testify . `` You seem to have chosen , '' he said to Michu , who was now brought back into the courtroom , `` an hour when the daylight was waning , from half-past five to half-past six o'clock , to mend this post and to cement it all alone . '' `` Monsieur d'Hauteserre had blamed me for not doing it , '' replied Michu . `` But , '' said the prosecutor , `` if you used that plaster on the post you must have had a trough and a trowel . Now , if you went to the chateau to tell Monsieur d'Hauteserre that you had done the work , how do you explain the fact that Gothard was bringing you more plaster .