noon
A few of the guardsmen were left to hold the chateau in the King 's name , and the rest of us , with no more than a sup and a bite , made off after this Captain . He had so many followers with him , that he was not difficult to trace , and for two days we kept his track , until we lost it at the edge of this forest . From what we learned at Chateaudun , we guessed that his refuge was somewhere in the forest . That was yesterday afternoon : we at once broke up into small parties to search the forest , planning to reunite at a chosen place to-day at noon . '' `` It was one of those parties that saved the Countess from the robbers , '' said I gratefully . `` Ay , and there your story crosses mine . As for the ruffians who attacked the Countess , they escaped without affording a clue to the Captain 's whereabouts , -- for doubtless they were of his band , though this was not certain .