about nine
o'clock
Likewise I strapped on my pistol . There was little traffic in the hamlet of Eaucourt Sainte-Anne that night . Few cars were on the road , and the M.T. detachment , judging from the din , seemed to be busy on a private spree . It was about nine o'clock when we turned into the side road , and at the entrance to it I saw a solid figure in khaki mounting guard beside two bicycles . Something in the man 's gesture , as he saluted , struck me as familiar , but I had no time to hunt for casual memories . I left the car just short of the bridge , and took the road which would bring me to the terraced front of the house . Once I turned the corner of the Chateau and saw the long ghostly facade white in the moonlight , I felt less confident .