two in the morning
The perspicacity which the habit of meditation gives to priests is far superior to that of lawyers or the police . By dint of contemplating from those terraces the scene of the crime , the prelate and his secretary had ended by perceiving circumstances unseen by others , in spite of all the investigations before and during the trial of the case . Monsieur de Grandville was playing whist at Madame Graslin 's house ; it was necessary to await his return ; the bishop did not therefore receive his answer till nearly midnight . The Abbe Gabriel , to whom the prelate lent his carriage , started at two in the morning for Montegnac . This region , which begins about twenty-five miles from the town , is situated in that part of the Limousin which lies at the base of the mountains of the Correze and follows the line of the Creuze . The young abbe left Limoges all heaving with expectation of the spectacle on the morrow , and still unaware that it would not take place . Priests and religious devotees have a tendency in the matter of payments to keep strictly to the letter of the law .