six in the evening
He swore between his teeth and ended by falling at length upon the ground , saying : `` My business is done ! But the villain has paid for it ! '' He gazed at the hedge opposite , where a Prussian grenadier was stretched , cold and stiff , the old sergeant 's bayonet yet in his body . It might then have been six in the evening . The enemy filled all the houses , gardens , orchards , the main streets and the alleys . I was cold and had dropped my head forward upon my knees , when the roll of artillery called me again to my senses . The two pieces in the garden and many others posted behind them threw their broad flashes through the darkness , while Russians and Prussians crowded through the street .