midnight
The walls of Nemours were cleared of the inscription ; but the quarrel between Minoret and his wife went on ; and Savinien maintained a threatening silence . Ten days after these events the marriage of Mademoiselle Massin , the elder , to the future notary was bruited about the town . Mademoiselle Massin had a dowry of eighty thousand francs and her own peculiar ugliness ; Goupil had his deformities and his practice ; the union therefore seemed suitable and probable . One evening , towards midnight , two unknown men seized Goupil in the street as he was leaving Massin 's house , gave him a sound beating , and disappeared . The notary kept the matter a profound secret , and even contradicted an old woman who saw the scene from her window and thought that she recognized him . These great little events were carefully studied by Bongrand , who became convinced that Goupil held some mysterious power over Minoret , and he determined to find out its cause . Though the public opinion of the little town recognized Ursula 's perfect innocence , she recovered slowly .