about five o'clock in the evening
This is what is called a good joke ! '' Then he began to laugh , looking at me from the corner of his eye . I had become very thoughtful , and two or three times more , before we reached Gauernitz , I paid for the poor wretch 's little glasses of something . It was about five o'clock in the evening , and we were approaching the village of Risa , when we descried an old mill , with its wooden bridge , over which a bridle-path ran . We struck off from the road and took this path , to make a short cut to the village , when we heard cries and shrieks for help , and , at the same moment , two women , one old , and the other somewhat younger , ran across a garden , dragging two children with them . They were trying to gain a little wood which bordered the road , and at the same moment we saw several of our soldiers come out of the mill with sacks , while others came up from a cellar with little casks , which they hastened to place on a cart standing near ; still others were driving cows and horses from a stable , while an old man stood at the door , with uplifted hands , as if calling down Heaven 's curse upon them ; and five or six of the evil-minded wretches surrounded the miller , who was all pale , with his eyes starting from their sockets . The whole scene , the mill , the dam , the broken windows , the flying women , our soldiers in fatigue caps , looking like veritable bandits , the old man cursing them , the cows shaking their heads to throw off those who were leading them , while others pricked them behind with their bayonets -- all seems yet before me -- I seem yet to see it .