one o’clock
said Tonsard . `` He 's right , '' said Courtecuisse , `` I 'm the best shot ; Vaudoyer , I 'll go with you ; Bonnebault may watch in my place ; he can give a cry ; that 's easier heard and less suspicious . '' All three returned to the tavern and the wedding festivities went on ; but about eleven o'clock Vaudoyer , Courtecuisse , Tonsard , and Bonnebault went out , carrying their guns , though none of the women took any notice of them . They came back in about three-quarters of an hour , and sat drinking till past one o'clock . Tonsard 's girls and their mother and the old Bonnebault woman had plied the miller , the mechanics , and the two peasants , as well as Fourchon , with so much drink that they were all on the ground and snoring when the four men left the tavern ; on their return , the sleepers were shaken and roused , and every one seemed to them , as before , in his place . While this orgy was going on Michaud 's household was in a scene of mortal anxiety . Olympe had felt false pains , and her husband , thinking she was about to be delivered , rode off instantly in haste for the doctor .