two o'clock in the afternoon
By midday the chateau had been ransacked from attic to cellar ; every kind of valuable property had been destroyed , priceless works of art irretrievably damaged . But priceless works of art had no market in Paris these days ; and the property of real value -- the Sucy diamonds namely -- which had excited the cupidity or the patriotic wrath of citizens Gourdon and Tournefort could nowhere be found . To make the situation more deplorable still , the Committee of Public Safety had in some unexplainable way got wind of the affair , and the two worthies had the mortification of seeing citizen Chauvelin presently appear upon the scene . It was then two o'clock in the afternoon . Gourdon , after he had snatched a hasty dinner at a neighbouring cabaret , had returned to the task of pulling the chateau of Gentilly about his own ears if need be , with a view to finding the concealed treasure . For the nonce he was standing in the centre of the finely proportioned hall . The rich ormolu and crystal chandelier lay in a tangled , broken heap of scraps at his feet , and all around there was a confused medley of pictures , statuettes , silver ornaments , tapestry and brocade hangings , all piled up in disorder , smashed , tattered , kicked at now and again by Gourdon , to the accompaniment of a savage oath .