eleven o'clock
In the beginning of February the strike began to fade out . Employers right and left were making compromises with the girls , and here and there girls were deserting the union and going back . The office at West Tenth Street became less crowded , fewer girls came , fewer committees met . There was one night when the work was all done at eleven o'clock , and this marked the reappearance of normal conditions . It was a day or two later that a vital experience came to Joe . Snow was falling outside , and it was near twilight , and in the quiet Joe was busy at his desk . Then a man came in , well , but carelessly dressed , his face pinched and haggard , his eyes bloodshot , his hair in stray tufts over his wrinkled forehead .