three o'clock in the morning
His servant would join him the next morning . The station at Reuilly was several miles distant from the house . In the confusion no arrangement had been made to receive him on his arrival , and he was obliged to content himself with making the intermediate journey in a heavy country-wagon . The bad condition of the roads was a new obstacle , and it was three o'clock in the morning when the Count , impatient and travel-worn , jumped out of the little cart before the railings of his avenue . He strode toward the house under the dark and silent dome of the tufted elms . He was in the middle of the avenue when a sharp cry rent the air . His heart bounded in his breast : he suddenly stopped and listened attentively .