three o'clock
He spoke of the matter from this point of view in the court-house . The judge postponed the hearing till four o'clock . Needless to describe the excitement in the town . Monsieur Tiphaine knew that by three o'clock the consultation of doctors would be over and their report drawn up ; he wished Auffray , as surrogate-guardian , to be at the hearing armed with that report . The announcement of Rogron 's marriage and the sacrifices made to it by Sylvie in the contract alienated two important supporters from the brother and sister , namely , -- Mademoiselle Habert and the colonel , whose hopes were thus annihilated . They remained , however , ostensibly on the Rogron side for the purpose of injuring it . Consequently , as soon as Monsieur Martener mentioned the alarming condition of Pierrette 's head , Celeste and the colonel told of the blow she had given herself during the evening when Sylvie had forced her to leave the salon ; and they related the old maid 's barbarous and unfeeling comments , with other statements proving her cruelty to her suffering cousin .