noon
He hurried through the service , gabbling the Latin phrases with sidelong glances at the bridal party . The bride and bridegroom knelt before the altar in considerable embarrassment , not knowing when it was necessary to kneel and when to stand and not always understanding the gestures made by the clerk . The witnesses thought it more convenient to stand all the time , while Mamma Coupeau , overcome by her tears again , shed them on a prayer book which she had borrowed from a neighbor . It was high noon . The last Mass was said , and the church was noisy with the movements of the sacristans , who were putting the chairs in their places . The center altar was being prepared for some fete , for the hammers were heard as the decorations were being nailed up . And in the choking dust raised by the broom of the man who was sweeping the corner of the small altar the priest laid his cold and withered hand on the heads of Gervaise and Coupeau with a sulky air , as if he were uniting them as a mere matter of business or to occupy the time between the two Masses .