nine o'clock in the morning
Monsieur Martin had himself gone down , in the afternoon , with the money to the lugger , and handed it over to Jean , and had a long talk with him and Pierre Lefaux , to whom Jean had also intrusted letters from himself and Patsey , to the squire . As soon as the party had taken their seats in the boat , it was rowed two miles up the river , to a point where there was a ferry across to a road , leading into the heart of La Vendee . Here a light waggon and a carriage were waiting . The luggage was transferred to the former and , after a hearty farewell to Pierre Lefaux , who had himself come in charge of the boat , they started on their journey ; and arrived at the chateau at nine o'clock in the morning , to the surprise of the man and woman in charge of it . `` Here we are safe , '' Jean said , as they alighted from the carriage . `` It would take nothing short of an army to fight its way through these woods and lanes and , if the Assembly try to interfere with us , they will find it a much easier thing to pull down the throne of France , than to subdue La Vendee . '' The news that the master had come down , and that he was going for a time to live among them , spread rapidly ; and in the course of the day some fifteen of the tenants came in to pay their respects , few of them arriving without some little offering in the way of game , poultry , butter , or other produce .