three o'clock
Father Duchesne , the bishop , and the visiting priests dined with Fabien Sauvage , the banker . Emil and Frank Shabata were both guests of old Moise Marcel . After dinner Frank and old Moise retired to the rear room of the saloon to play California Jack and drink their cognac , and Emil went over to the banker 's with Raoul , who had been asked to sing for the bishop . At three o'clock , Emil felt that he could stand it no longer . He slipped out under cover of `` The Holy City , '' followed by Malvina 's wistful eye , and went to the stable for his mare . He was at that height of excitement from which everything is foreshortened , from which life seems short and simple , death very near , and the soul seems to soar like an eagle . As he rode past the graveyard he looked at the brown hole in the earth where Amedee was to lie , and felt no horror .