About ten o’clock
A minister may well do the same thing and be thought a great man , able to choose the right instruments ; but a mere subordinate will be judged as a spy , no matter what may be his motives . While justly measuring the folly of such judgment , Rabourdin knew that it was all-powerful ; and he knew , too , that he was crushed . More surprised than overwhelmed , he now sought for the best course to follow under the circumstances ; and with such thoughts in his mind he was necessarily aloof from the excitement caused in the division by the death of Monsieur de la Billardiere ; in fact he did not hear of it until young La Briere , who was able to appreciate his sterling value , came to tell him . About ten o'clock , in the bureau Baudoyer , Bixiou was relating the last moments of the life of the director to Minard , Desroys , Monsieur Godard , whom he had called from his private office , and Dutocq , who had rushed in with private motives of his own . Colleville and Chazelle were absent . Bixiou -LSB- standing with his back to the stove and holding up the sole of each boot alternately to dry at the open door -RSB- . `` This morning , at half-past seven , I went to inquire after our most worthy and respectable director , knight of the order of Christ , et caetera , et caetera .