eight o'clock
She would doubtless consume an unusual amount of time in the preparation of his coffee , she would presumably tell him that the milkman had not appeared punctually , and would probably assert that there were as yet no rolls to be had . The immediate consequence of these spiteful fictions would be that Fischelowitz would dress himself very leisurely , swallowing the smoke of several cigarettes in the meanwhile , and that he would hardly be clothed , fed and out of the house before eight in the morning , instead of being on the way to the shop at seven as was his usual practice . But the Count was not at all disturbed by this . The persons whose coming he expected were not of the class who pay visits at eight o'clock . It was as pleasant to sit still and think of the glorious things in the future , as to do anything else , until the great moment came . Here , at least , he was undisturbed by the voices of men , unless Dumnoff 's portentous snore could be called a voice , and to this his ear had grown accustomed . He sat down again , therefore , in his old position , crossed one knee over the other and again produced the piece of crumpled newspaper which held his tobacco .