ten o'clock
Some one older than yourself , and who has had experience . The best-meaning woman in the world does n't count . '' Only a very few days later , an occasion offered when , with profit to himself , he might have acted upon Madeleine 's introductory advice . He had been for a quick , solitary walk , and was returning , in the evening between nine and ten o'clock , along one of the paths of the wood , when suddenly , and close at hand , he heard the sound of voices . He stopped instantaneously , for by the jump his heart gave , he knew that Louise was one of the speakers . What she said was inaudible to him ; but it was enough to be able to listen , unseen , to her voice . Hearing it like this , as something existing for itself , he was amazed at its depth and clearness ; he felt that her personal presence had , until now , hindered him from appreciating a beautiful but immaterial thing at its true worth .