six in the morning
She belonged to the number of those strange persons who underneath an external indolent calmness , careless taciturnity , egotistical withdrawal into one 's self , conceal within them unusual energy ; always as though slumbering with half an eye , guarding itself from unnecessary expenditure ; but ready in one moment to become animated and to rush forward without reckoning the obstacles . At twelve o'clock she descended in a cab into the old town ; rode through it into a little narrow street giving out upon a square where fairs were held ; and stopped near a rather dirty tea-room , having ordered the cabby to wait . In the room she made inquiries of a boy , red-haired , with a badger hair-cut and the parting slicked down with butter , if Senka the Depot had not come here ? The serving lad , who , judging by his refined and gallant readiness , had already known Tamara for a long time , answered that `` Nohow , ma'am ; they -- Semen Ignatich -- had not been in yet , and probably would not be here soon seein ' as how yesterday they had the pleasure of going on a spree at the Transvaal , and had played at billiards until six in the morning ; and that now they , in all probabilities , are at home , in the Half Way House rooms , and if the young lady will give the word , then it 's possible to hop over to them this here minute . '' Tamara asked for paper and pencil , and wrote a few words right on the spot . Then she gave the note to the waiter , together with a half-rouble piece for a tip , and rode away . The following visit was to the artiste Rovinskaya , living , as Tamara had known even before , in the city 's most aristocratic hotel -- Europe -- where she occupied several rooms in a consecutive suite .