nearly two o'clock
Every word of it was graven on his memory . How more than strange that Denis should have dragged him away that afternoon , to that particular spot , at that very hour ! By what a string of accidents had everything happened ... It was nearly two o'clock . To step out of doors was like passing into a furnace . Streets were deserted . The houses showed glaring white against the cobalt of the firmament ; their inhabitants lay asleep within , behind closed shutters .