six o'clock
The situation now seemed to him critical and , glancing around , he found the same feeling expressed in the looks and faces of the other officers . But the colonel had already beckoned to his orderly and sprung into the saddle . The trumpets sounded the first signal , a sudden movement ran through the ranks of the dragoons , in an instant all were in the saddle , sabre-sheaths clanked against stirrups , the chains and bars of the bits rattled as the horses tossed their heads , then there was a second blare of trumpets , a shrill neighing , a loud snorting , the pawing and stamping of hoofs , swords flew from their sheaths , and the troop of horsemen was in motion . Prince Louis looked at his watch -- it was half-past six o'clock . As , at the head of the first squadron , he rode a short distance behind the colonel , the aides of the regiment , and the trumpeters , a strange mood which he had never before experienced came over him . The painful excitement and quivering impatience , which , during the last half-hour , had made his veins throb to his finger-tips , merged into a joyous consciousness of purposeful activity , which restored his calmness . Now he no longer reflected and criticised .