about three o'clock
It was decidedly the entry of a man without the slightest natural aptitude for furtive irruptions . The clock in M. Niepce 's room , which the grocer had persuaded to exact time-keeping , chimed three with its delicate ting . For several days past Chirac had been mysteriously engaged very late at the bureaux of the Debats . No one knew the nature of his employment ; he said nothing , except to inform Sophia that he would continue to come home about three o'clock until further notice . She had insisted on leaving in his room the materials and apparatus for a light meal . Naturally he had protested , with the irrational obstinacy of a physically weak man who sticks to it that he can defy the laws of nature . But he had protested in vain .