Seven
o'clock
He told himself that this would never do , that he could not endure it . He decided to patronize the first one he could find , to hasten to a popular tooth-extractor , one of those iron-fisted men who , if they are ignorant of the useless art of dressing decaying teeth and of filling holes , know how to pull the stubbornest stump with an unequalled rapidity . There , the office is opened early in the morning and one is not required to wait . Seven o'clock struck at last . He hurried out , and recollecting the name of a mechanic who called himself a dentist and dwelt in the corner of a quay , he rushed through the streets , holding his cheek with his hands repressing the tears . Arrived in front of the house , recognizable by an immense wooden signboard where the name of `` Gatonax '' sprawled in enormous pumpkin-colored letters , and by two little glass cases where false teeth were carefully set in rose-colored wax , he gasped for breath . He perspired profusely .