seven o'clock
Thus he also would reach the village , pass through it , and mount the hill to the Cross . His way was shorter and his pace quicker . To be there before the lady would be only polite ; it would also give him a few minutes in which to arrange his thoughts and settle what might be the best way to open to her the new -- the very new -- things that he had to say . In the preoccupation of these he thought little of his later appointment at seven o'clock -- although it was in view of this that he had slipped the revolver into his pocket . Finally , just about the same time also , Guillaume was rehearsing to Paul de Roustache exactly what they were to do and where their respective parts began and terminated . Paul was listening with deep attention , with a curious smile on his face , and with the inner reflection that things in the end might turn out quite differently from what his astute companion supposed would be the case . Moreover -- also just in case of accidents -- both of these gentlemen , it may be mentioned , had slipped revolvers into their pockets .