about
nine o'clock
He decided to pay Burle a surprise visit that very evening at his own house , and maybe by questioning his mother he might learn something . However , during the afternoon his leg became very painful ; latterly he had been feeling in ill-health , and he had to use a stick so as not to limp too outrageously . This stick grieved him sorely , and he declared with angry despair that he was now no better than a pensioner . However , toward the evening , making a strong effort , he pulled himself out of his armchair and , leaning heavily on his stick , dragged himself through the darkness to the Rue des Recollets , which he reached about nine o'clock . The street door was still unlocked , and on going up he stood panting on the third landing , when he heard voices on the upper floor . One of these voices was Burle 's , so he fancied , and out of curiosity he ascended another flight of stairs . Then at the end of a passage on the left he saw a ray of light coming from a door which stood ajar .