twelve o'clock
I chimed in . The harlequin was soon gone , and he resumed . `` The evidence I speak of came from a boy , about twelve years old , who knew the appearance of the Count perfectly , having been often employed by him as a messenger . He stated that about half-past twelve o'clock , on the same night -- upon which you are to observe , there was a brilliant moon -- he was sent , his mother having been suddenly taken ill , for the _ sage femme _ who lived within a stone 's throw of the Dragon Volant . His father 's house , from which he started , was a mile away , or more , from that inn , in order to reach which he had to pass round the park of the Chéteau de la Carque , at the site most remote from the point to which he was going . It passes the old churchyard of St. Aubin , which is separated from the road only by a very low fence , and two or three enormous old trees . The boy was a little nervous as he approached this ancient cemetery ; and , under the bright moonlight , he saw a man whom he distinctly recognized as the Count , whom they designated by a sobriquet which means ` the man of smiles . '