midnight
They have had a terrible panic over the safety of the crown jewels -- they were nervous enough before the robbery . And this is what they 've done in secret : `` The crown jewels , the bars of gold of the reserve , the great pictures from the Louvre , the antiques of value , including the Venus of Milo , have been packed in cases and loaded on trains under heavy guard . `` Twelve of these trains have already left Paris for the war-port of Lorient . The others are to follow , one every twenty-four hours at midnight . `` Whether these treasures are to be locked up in Lorient , or whether they are to be buried in the sand-dunes along the coast , I do n't know . But I know this : a swift cruiser -- the _ Fer-de-Lance _ -- is lying off Paradise , between the light-house and the Ile de Groix , with steam up night and day , ready to receive the treasures of the government at the first alarm and run for the French possessions in Cochin-China . `` And now , perhaps , you may guess why Buckhurst is so anxious to hang around Paradise . ''