About nine o'clock in the evening
They knew the castle had but a small number of defenders , and that Coursegol , the most formidable of these , was absent at the time . They also knew that the isolated situation of the château afforded its inmates little chance of succor , and that , if they could succeed in surprising it , they could accomplish their work of destruction before the inhabitants of Remoulins and the surrounding villages could come to the aid of the Marquis and his household . The plan was decided upon in a few hours ; and the disorder that prevailed throughout the country , the inertness of the authorities and the want of harmony among the soldiery , all favored its execution . About nine o'clock in the evening , the bandits stole quietly out of Nîmes . They reached the Pont du Gard a little before midnight and halted there to receive their final instructions before ascending the hill upon the summit of which stood the Château de Chamondrin . Here , they were joined by a dozen or more Bohemians who were encamped near by , the same men who had accompanied the Catholics on their expedition that same morning . They approached the bandits in the hope that a new army was in process of organization for an attack upon the city , and that they might accompany it .