Eight o’clock
Then he went off without looking Therese in the face . The old mercer regarded him as the rescuer of her niece , as a noble-hearted young man who had done his utmost to restore her son to her , and she welcomed him with tender kindness . One Thursday evening , when Laurent happened to be there , old Michaud and Grivet entered . Eight o'clock was striking . The clerk and the former commissary of police had both thought , independently of one another , that they could resume their dear custom , without appearing importunate , and they arrived at the same moment , as if urged by the same impulse . Behind them , came Olivier and Suzanne . Everyone went upstairs to the dining-room .