noon
The officers under Dessalines also , aware that the main struggle , whenever the French would come to an engagement , must be in the Plateaux de la Ravine , drew thither , with the remnants of the force which had suffered defeat in the south-west . Hither , too , came Bellair , with his family , and the little garrison which had fortified and held L'Etoile , till it became necessary to burn and leave it . Messenger arrived after messenger , to announce these accessions of force ; and the whole household poured out upon the heights to see and hear . If it was at noon , the clear music of the wind-instruments floated faintly in the still air ; if the morning or evening breezes were abroad the harmony came in gushes ; and the shouts of greeting and reception were plainly distinguishable , and were responded to involuntarily by all at Le Zephyr but the two prisoners . Under the impulse of the moment , no voice was louder or more joyous than Vincent 's . It now only remained for Maurepas to bring his numerous troops up to the point of junction . He must presently arrive ; and then , as Placide and other sanguine young soldiers thought , and as Sabes and his companion began seriously to fear , the negro force under L'Ouverture might defy all Europe .