two in the morning
Eight days later , they were driving through the faubourg of Troyes , where they learned that an order of the chief justice , transmitted through the _ procureur imperial _ of Troyes , commanded the release of the four gentlemen on bail during the Emperor 's pleasure . But Michu 's sentence was confirmed , and the warrant for his execution had been forwarded from the ministry of police . These orders had reached Troyes that very morning . Laurence went at once to the prison , though it was two in the morning , and obtained permission to stay with Michu , who was about to undergo the melancholy ceremony called `` the toilet . '' The good abbe , who had asked permission to accompany him to the scaffold , had just given absolution to the man , whose only distress in dying was his uncertainty as to the fate of his young masters . When Laurence entered his cell he uttered a cry of joy . `` I can die now , '' he said .