noon precisely
The venerable pastor , leaning on the arms of Madame Georges and La Goualeuse , who supported his tottering steps , left the room to see Rodolph depart . The last rays of the sun shed their light on this interesting yet sad group : An old priest , the symbol of charity , pardon , and everlasting hope ; a female , overwhelmed by every grief that can distress a wife and mother ; a young girl , hardly out of her infancy , and but recently thrown into an abyss of vice through misery and the close contact with crime . Rodolph got into the carriage , Murphy took his place by his side , and the horses set off at speed . The day after he had confided the Goualeuse to the care of Madame Georges , Rodolph , still dressed as a mechanic , was , at noon precisely , at the door of a cabaret with the sign of the Panier-Fleuri , not far from the barrier of Bercy . The evening before , at ten o'clock , the Chourineur was punctual to the appointment which Rodolph had fixed with him . The result of this narrative will inform our readers of the particulars of the meeting . It was twelve o'clock , and the rain fell in torrents ; the Seine , swollen by perpetual falls of rain , had risen very high , and overflowed a part of the quay .