half past eleven
The plans were very quickly settled . The police director had the chapel opened and went in with the young Latitudinarian ; then he told the police sergeant to lock the door behind him and to put the key back where he had found it , and to shut the window of the sexton 's cottage carefully . Lastly , he made arrangements as to what they were to do , in case anything unforeseen should occur , whereupon the sergeant and the constable left the churchyard , and lay down in a ditch at some distance from the gate , but opposite to it . Almost as soon as the clock struck half past eleven , they heard steps near the chapel , whereupon the police director and the young Latitudinarian went to the window in order to watch the beginning of the exorcism , and as the chapel was in total darkness , they thought that they should be able to see without being seen ; but matters turned out differently from what they expected . Suddenly , the key turned in the lock . They barely had time to conceal themselves behind the altar , before two men came in , one of whom was carrying a dark lantern . One was the young man 's father , an elderly man of the middle class , who seemed very unhappy and depressed , the other the Jesuit father X -- , a tall , lean , big-boned man , with a thin , bilious face , in which two large gray eyes shone restlessly under bushy , black eyebrows .