midnight
The country was pretty enough , but it soon began to grow dusk , and they wondered when they would arrive in Paris . The train was due at 7.30 , but there did not seem to be the least chance of getting in at that hour , for , late as they already were , they continued to lose time on the way . The little Frenchman was their only companion , and he did not seem to know much English . However , between his shreds of that language and Barbara 's scanty French she managed to find out that they would not arrive in Paris until midnight . Aunt Anne expressed her annoyance in no measured terms , but he merely shrugged his shoulders and smiled , until she collapsed into a corner speechless with disgust . He left them at Rouen , and Barbara , watching her aunt sleeping in a corner , wondered what they would do when they finally did arrive at the station . But , as soon as the lights of the _ Gare de Lazare _ showed through the darkness , Miss Britton began to bestir herself , and , when the train stopped , marched boldly out of the carriage as if she had been in Paris dozens of times .