four o’clock
Antoine gave him the letter , and he had no sooner opened it than he rushed headlong downstairs in the direction of the secretary 's office . The bureaus Rabourdin and Baudoyer , after idling and gossiping since the death of Monsieur de la Billardiere , were now recovering their usual official look and the dolce far niente habits of a government office . Nevertheless , the approaching end of the year did cause rather more application among the clerks , just as porters and servants become at that season more unctuously civil . They all came punctually , for one thing ; more remained after four o'clock than was usual at other times . It was not forgotten that fees and gratuities depend on the last impressions made upon the minds of masters . The news of the union of the two divisions , that of La Billardiere and that of Clergeot , under one director , had spread through the various offices . The number of the clerks to be retired was known , but all were in ignorance of the names .