five o'clock
The element of the tragic and unforeseen there was in the whole business , that army that Delaherche had driven out to pass in review and which had brought him home with it , whether he would or no , in the mad gallop of its retreat , made him repeat again and again during their long drive : `` I supposed it was moving on Verdun and would have given anything rather than miss seeing it . Ah well ! I have seen it now , and I am afraid we shall see more of it in Sedan than we desire . '' The following morning he was awakened at five o'clock by the hubbub , like the roar of water escaping from a broken dam , made by the 7th corps as it streamed through the city ; he dressed in haste and went out , and almost the first person he set eyes on in the Place Turenne was Captain Beaudoin . When pretty Madame Maginot was living at Charleville the year before the captain had been one of her best friends , and Gilberte had introduced him to her husband before they were married . Rumor had it that the captain had abdicated his position as first favorite and made way for the cloth merchant from motives of delicacy , not caring to stand in the way of the great good fortune that seemed coming to his fair friend . `` Hallo , is that you ? ''