eleven in the evening
I had nowhere else to go . There were my things in the apartment on the first floor . I could n't bear the thought of meeting anybody I knew . The feeble gas flame in the hall was still there , on duty , as though it had never been turned off since I last crossed the hall at half-past eleven in the evening to go to the harbour . The small flame had watched me letting myself out ; and now , exactly of the same size , the poor little tongue of light -LRB- there was something wrong with that burner -RRB- watched me letting myself in , as indeed it had done many times before . Generally the impression was that of entering an untenanted house , but this time before I could reach the foot of the stairs Therese glided out of the passage leading into the studio . After the usual exclamations she assured me that everything was ready for me upstairs , had been for days , and offered to get me something to eat at once .