ten o’clock in the morning
He was therefore conducted to a distant fortress near the Russian frontier , and handed over to the captain of the landwehr , who received instructions to keep a strict guard over him . This officer belonged to the engineering corps , and directed , at the same time , the work of repairs within the citadel , in charge of a civilian contractor . Taking into consideration the rank of his prisoner , the captain permitted the Marquis to have with him his orderly , an Alsatian , who twice a day brought from the inn his chief 's repasts . This functionary had permission also , from ten o'clock in the morning until sunset , to promenade in the court under the eye of the sentinel on guard at the entrance . At five o'clock in the evening , the officer of the landwehr politely shut up his guest in his prison , double-locked the door , put the key in his pocket , and appeared no more until the next morning . The middle of November had arrived ; heavy snows had already fallen , and the prisoner amused himself by constructing fortifications of snow -- a work which his amiable jailer followed with a professional interest , giving him advice regarding modifications proper to introduce in the defense of certain places , himself putting a finger in the pie in support of his demonstration . This sort of amusement was followed so industriously that in a few days a kind of rampart was erected in front of the casemate of the fortress , behind which , by stooping a little , a man of ordinary height could easily creep along unseen by the sentinel .