They threw themselves, dressed, on the bed to wait till midnight.
At half past twelve they were aroused by the tocsin, the drum and the shouting. Thrusting their heads out of the window, they saw the town in confusion racing towards the town hall. Many armed men ran in the same direction with all sorts of weapons.
The officers went to the stables to get the horses out so that they would be ready for the carriage if it crossed the town. They had their own chargers ready and kept by the King's relay, on which sat the postboys.
Soon they learnt, amid the shouts and menaces that the royal party had been stopped.
They argued that they had better ride over to Stenay where the little army corps commanded by Bouille was waiting. They could arrive in two hours.
Abandoning the relay, they galloped off, so that one of the main forces foiled the King at the critical moment!
During this time, Choiseul had been pushing on but he lost three quarters of an hour by threading a wood, the guide going wrong by accident or design. This was the very time while the King was compelled to alight and go into Sausse's.
At half after twelve, while the two young officers were riding off by the other road, Choiseul presented himself at the gate, coming by the cross-road.
"Who goes there?" was challenged at the bridge where National guards were posted.
"France—Lauzun Hussars," was the count's reply.