eight o'clock
`` Every citizen has an equal right to the protection of the State , '' the police director replied ; `` and I think that I have shown often enough that I am not wanting in courage to perform my duty , no matter how serious the consequences may be . But only very young men act without any prospects of success , because they are carried away by their feelings . When you came to me the first time , I was obliged to refuse your request for assistance , but to-day your request is just and reasonable . It is now eight o'clock ; I shall expect you in two hours ' time , here in my office . At present , all you have to do is to hold your tongue ; everything else is my affair . '' As soon as it was dark , four men got into a closed carriage in the yard of the police-office , and were driven in the direction of the village of S -- . Their carriage , however , did not enter the village , but stopped at the edge of a small wood in the immediate neighborhood .