ten o’clock at night
It was but a quiet , sad petition -- without a trace of yesterday 's irritation ; but at the same time there was that in her voice which betrayed that she made the request in the full knowledge that it could not be assented to . No sooner did Velchaninoff , in despair , begin to assure her as tenderly as he could that what she desired was impossible , than she silently closed her eyes and said not another word , just as though she neither saw nor heard him . Arrived in town Velchaninoff told his man to drive him to the Pokrofsky . It was ten o'clock at night . Pavel Pavlovitch was not at his lodgings . Velchaninoff waited for him half an hour , walking up and down the passage in a state of feverish impatience . Maria Sisevna assured him at last that Pavel Pavlovitch would not come in until the small hours .