noon
On the first morning after leaving Versailles they had halted in wood a short distance from Chartres , and Malcolm had ridden in alone and had purchased a suit of citizen 's clothes for Ronald , as the latter 's uniform as an officer of the Scotch Dragoons would at once have attracted notice . Henceforward , whenever they stopped , Malcolm had taken an opportunity to mention to the stable boy that he was accompanying his master , the son of an advocate of Paris , on a visit to some relatives in La Vendee . This story he repeated at the inn where they put up at Nantes . The next morning Malcolm went round to all the inns in the town , but could hear nothing of the Duke of Athole , so he returned at noon with the news of his want of success . `` They may have hired a private lodging to avoid observation , '' Ronald said , `` or , not improbably , may have taken another name . The best thing we can do is to go down to the river side , inquire what vessels are likely to leave port soon , and then , if we see anyone going off to them , to accost them . We may hear of them in that way . ''