eight
o'clock
We may , therefore , assume that he intends this evening to consult the spirit of my dead mother again , and this would be an excellent opportunity for getting on the track of the matter , if you do not object to opposing the most powerful force in the Empire , for the sake of such an insignificant individual as myself . '' `` Every citizen has an equal right to the protection of the State , '' the police director replied ; `` and I think that I have shown often enough , that I am not wanting in courage to perform my duty , no matter how serious the consequences may be ; but only very young men act without any prospects of success , as they are carried away by their feelings . When you came to me the first time , I was obliged to refuse your request for assistance , but to-day your shares have risen in value . It is now eight o'clock , and I shall expect you in two hours ' time , here in my office . At present , all you have to do is to hold your tongue ; everything else is my affair . '' As soon as it was dark , four men got into a closed carriage in the yard of the police office , and were driven in the direction of the village of S -- ; their carriage , however , did not enter the village , but stopped at the edge of a small wood in the immediate neighborhood . Here they all four alighted ; they were the police director , accompanied by the young Latitudinarian , a police sergeant and an ordinary policeman , who was , however , dressed in plain clothes .