nine o’clock
he said . `` You know well enough that he will take no substitute to-night , or any night , You strike hard , my friend . '' The concierge growled , and together they entered the house across the street . In the absence of Humbert , his niece , daughter of a milk-seller near , kept the bureau , answered the bell , and after nine o'clock , when the doors were bolted , admitted the various occupants of the house and gave them the tiny tapers with which to light themselves upstairs . She was sewing and singing softly when they entered . Herman Spier 's pale face colored . He suspected the girl of a softness for him , not entirely borne out by the facts .