eleven o'clock
But she knew the little broker in Steevens 's Road : she would go to him and see if he had any beds , and if he would help her to put them up at once ! The raw night made her rejoice the more that she had got hold of the poor creatures drowning in the social swamp . It was a consolation , strong even against such heavy sorrows and disappointments as housed in her heart to know that virtue was going out of her for rescue and redemption . She had to ring the bell a good many times before the door opened , for the broker and his small household had retired for the night : it was now eleven o'clock . He was not well pleased at being taken from his warm bed to go out and work -- on such a night too ! He grounded what objection he made , however , on its being Sunday , and more than hinted his surprise that Hester would ask him to do such a thing . She told him it was for some who had nowhere to lay their heads , and in her turn more than hinted that he could hardly know what Sunday meant if he did not think it right to do any number of good deeds on it .