a half after ten
Having passed our last outpost , where we stayed to chat for a moment with the officer in command , we proceeded at a brisk pace , my comrade feeling assured that we should not meet an enemy during the first six miles . After that distance we went more slowly and with greater caution , for if the marshal was really at Arnay-le-Duc , his patrols were probably scouring the neighbourhood . About four miles from the town we entered the street of a straggling village . It was a half after ten ; the lights in the cottages were out ; the villagers had retired to bed . `` Shall we do any good by knocking up the landlord of the inn ? '' I asked . `` What say you , Jacques ? ''