two
o'clock
At these words we leaped from our beds , and hurried to make our toilet . Two of the guides , Ambrose Ravanel and his cousin Simon , went on ahead to explore the road . They were provided with a lantern , which was to show us the way to go , and with hatchets to make the path and cut steps in the very difficult spots . At two o'clock we tied ourselves one to another : the order of march was , Edward Ravanel before me , and at the head ; behind me Edward Simon , then Donatien Levesque ; after him our two porters -LRB- for we took along with us the domestic of the Grands-Mulets hut as a second -RRB- , and M. N -- 's party . The guides and porters having distributed the provisions between them , the signal for departure was given , and we set off in the midst of profound darkness , directing ourselves according to the lantern held up at some distance ahead . There was something solemn in this setting out . But few words were spoken ; the vagueness of the unknown impressed us , but the new and strange situation excited us , and rendered us insensible to its dangers .