ten
o’clock in the morning
And the next moment she was gone round the corner of the house , while I laughed to think of the excellent watch these gallant gentlemen were keeping . M. de Cocheforet might have been with her in the garden , might have talked with her as I had talked , might have entered the house even , and passed under their noses scot-free . But that is the way of soldiers . They are always ready for the enemy , with drums beating and flags flying -- at ten o'clock in the morning . But he does not always come at that hour . I waited a little , and then I groped my way to the door and knocked on it with the hilt of my sword . The dogs began to bark at the back , and the chorus of a drinking-song , which came fitfully from the east wing , ceased altogether .