seven in the evening
On quiet days , when there was little firing beyond the poplar trees , she went about with a basket through the neglected winter gardens of the town . There were Brussels sprouts , and sometimes she found in a cellar carrots or cabbages . She had potatoes always . It was at night then , from seven in the evening until one , that the little house was busiest . Word had gone out through the trenches beyond the poplar trees that slightly wounded men needing rest before walking back to their billets , exhausted and sick men , were welcome to the little house . It was soon necessary to give the officers tickets for the men . René took them in at the door , with his rifle in the hollow of his arm , and he was as implacable as a ticket taker at the opera .