about three o’clock
-- what 's that ? '' `` That particular rat , '' said Leon , with a friendly nod to Mademoiselle Ninette , `` may perhaps win your suit for you . '' Gazonal bounded ; but Bixiou had held him by the arm ever since they left the cafe , thinking perhaps that the flush on his face was rather vivid . `` That rat , who is just leaving a rehearsal at the Opera-house , is going home to eat a miserable dinner , and will return about three o'clock to dress , if she dances in the ballet this evening -- as she will , to-day being Monday . This rat is already an old rat for she is thirteen years of age . Two years from now that creature may be worth sixty thousand francs ; she will be all or nothing , a great danseuse or a marcheuse , a celebrated person or a vulgar courtesan . She has worked hard since she was eight years old .