six o'clock
It sometimes happened that he would lie in bed a little longer , so that he should not deprive her of a pleasure , and when she knocked on the wall he would answer in a voice quite stupid with drowsiness . But sometimes her childish years demanded the sleep that was their right , when Pelle would move about as quietly as possible , and then , at half-past six , it would be his turn to knock on the wall . On these occasions she would feel ashamed of herself all the morning . Her brothers were supposed to get their early coffee and go to work by six o'clock . Peter , who was the elder , worked in a tin-plate works , while Earl sold the morning papers , and undertook every possible kind of occasional work as well ; this he had to hunt for , and you could read as much in his whole little person . There was something restless and nomadic about him , as though his thoughts were always seeking some outlet . It was quite a lively neighborhood at this time of day ; across the floor of the well , and out through the tunnel-like entry there was an endless clattering of footsteps , as the hundreds of the `` Ark '' tumbled out into the daylight , half tipsy with sleep , dishevelled , with evidence of hasty rising in their eyes and their garments , smacking their lips as though they relished the contrast between the night and day , audibly yawning as they scuttled away .