ten o'clock
The night before he had gone to bed at five , had risen sleepless at seven , and having dressed and breakfasted had locked himself in his study . The very last page , he told Doria , was to be written . He was to come down to us for Christmas , with his novel a finished thing . At ten o'clock , in accordance with custom , when he began to work early , the maid came to his door with a cup of chicken-broth . She knocked . There was no reply . She knocked louder .