nine o’clock
Alas it was fruitless for the fearless Tartarin to challenge them ... they never appeared ; but though it seemed unlikely that they would come to Tarascon , Tartarin was always ready for them , particularly in the evenings when he went to the club . The knight of the temple preparing for a sortie against the Saracen . The Chinese warrior equipping himself for battle . The Comanchee brave taking to the warpath were as nothing compared to Tartarin de Tarascon arming himself to go to the club at nine o'clock on a dark evening , an hour after the bugle had blown the retreat . He was cleared for action as the sailors say . On his left hand he had a metal knuckleduster . In his right he carried a sword-stick .