three o'clock
The mayor shouldered his way eagerly through the crowd . He was back from the post-office , where he had been telephoning to Le Havre , to the office of the procurator-general , and had been told that the public prosecutor and an examining-magistrate would come on to Étretat in the course of the afternoon . `` That leaves us plenty of time for lunch , '' said Rénine . `` The tragedy will not be enacted before two or three o'clock . And I have an idea that it will be sensational . '' They hurried nevertheless . Hortense , overwrought by fatigue and her desire to know what was happening , continually questioned Rénine , who replied evasively , with his eyes turned to the esplanade , which they could see through the windows of the coffee-room .