two o’clock
Light those other two candles there . '' He was seized by a desire for light , a flood of light ; he would have desired the blinding light of the sun ; and thinking that the light of the three candles was not sufficient , he went into his room for a pair of three-branched candelabra which were there . The nine candles were blazing , yet neither of them , in their disorder -- he with his chest bare , she with her left shoulder stained with blood , her throat and arms bare -- saw the other . It was past two o'clock , but neither of them had any consciousness of the hour ; they were going to spend the night in this eager desire for knowledge , without feeling the need of sleep , outside time and space . The mutterings of the storm , which , through the open window , they could see gathering , grew louder and louder . Clotilde had never before seen in Pascal 's eyes the feverish light which burned in them now . He had been overworking himself for some time past , and his mental sufferings made him at times abrupt , in spite of his good-natured complacency .