a quarter past six
Let us say , moreover , that apart from self-interest , Cerizet would still have endeavored to scrape a little profit out of his friend ; ` twas an instinct and a need of his nature . He had as great a horror for straight courses as the lovers of English gardens show in the lines of their paths . Dutocq , having still a portion of the cost of his practice to pay off , was forced to live very sparingly , so that a dinner at the Rocher de Cancale was something of an event in the economy of his straitened existence . He arrived , therefore , with that punctuality which testifies to an interest in the occasion , and precisely at a quarter past six he entered the private room of the restaurant where Cerizet awaited him . `` It is queer , '' he said ; `` here we are returned to precisely the situation in which we began our business relationship with la Peyrade , -- except , to be sure , that this present place of meeting of the three emperors is more comfortable ; I prefer the Tilsit of the rue Montgorgeuil to the Tilsit of the Cheval Rouge . '' `` Faith ! '' said Cerizet , `` I do n't know that the results justify the change , for , to be frank , where are the profits to _ us _ in the scheme of our triumvirate ? ''