Five o'clock
The situation was pitiable : D'Harmental unquestionably had there , ready to his hand , all the means necessary to the happy completion of his plot , but he had , in killing the captain , broken with his own hand the thread which should have served him as a clew to them , and , the center link broken , the whole chain had become useless . D'Harmental bit his lips till the blood came , and wandered to and fro , from end to end of the market , still hoping that some unforeseen event would get him out of his difficulty . Time , however , flowed away , the market presented the same aspect , no one spoke to him , and two peasants to whom despair had caused him to address some ambiguous words , had opened their eyes and mouths in such profound astonishment that he had instantly broken off the conversation , convinced that he was mistaken . Five o'clock struck . At eight or nine the regent would repair to Chelles , there was therefore no time to be lost , particularly as this ambuscade was the last resource for the conspirators , who might be arrested at any moment , and who staked their remaining hopes on this last throw . D'Harmental did not conceal from himself the difficulties of the situation ; he had claimed for himself the honor of the enterprise ; on him therefore rested all the responsibility -- and that responsibility was terrible . On the other hand , he found himself in one of those situations where courage is useless , and where human will shatters itself against an impossibility , and where the last chance is to confess one 's weakness , and ask aid from those who expect it of us .