two o’clock in the afternoon
The necessity of some reason for their ride suggested to each of them the excuse of hunting . The peasants had given warning , a few days earlier , of a wolf in the forest , and on that they had fastened as a pretext . The public prosecutor , however , pointed out a discrepancy between the first statements of the Messieurs d'Hauteserre , in which they mentioned that the whole party hunted together , and the defence now made by the Messieurs de Simeuse that their purpose on that day was the valuation of the forest . Monsieur de Grandville here called attention to the fact that as the crime was not committed until after two o'clock in the afternoon , the prosecution had no ground to question their word when they stated the manner in which they had employed their morning . The prosecutor replied that the prisoners had an interest in concealing their preparations for the abduction of the senator . The remarkable ability of the defence was now felt . Judges , jurors , and audience became aware that victory would be hotly contested .