four o'clock
A type to inspire distrust , one would think , at sight ; a nature as repellant as a snake 's , and ten times as deadly ; in every line and lineament , in every move and gesture , an Apache of the Apaches ... As for the baleful reflections with which Dupont was patently concerned to the exclusion of all considerations of either surveillance or environment , Lanyard found himself so inquisitive that he had never a thought but to follow and study the fellow till he surprised his secret , if possible -- at least so long as it might seem safe to do so . Moreover , nothing could have suited his own purpose better than to proceed to Paris by way of Lyons . Nothing hindered the carrying out of his design . Still lost in thought and inattentive , Dupont entrained for Nimes and at that station changed to the rapide for Lyons , where duly at four o'clock -- with Lanyard still a discreet shadow -- he alighted in the Gare de Perrache . Here again fortune favoured the voluntary sleuth . The station was well thronged , a circumstance which enabled him to keep inconspicuously close to his victim . Furthermore , Dupont was obviously looking for somebody , and so distracted .