five o'clock in the afternoon
If he had followed his natural instinct he would have loitered about in one of the public squares until morning , making up for the loss of his night 's rest by sleeping in the daytime . But he had taken upon himself the responsibilities of marriage as they are regarded west of the Dnieper , and his union had been blessed by the subsequent appearance of a number of olive-branches . It was therefore necessary that he should sleep at night in order to work by day , and he reluctantly turned his footsteps towards home . As he walked , he thought of all that had happened since five o'clock in the afternoon , and of all that he had learned in the course of the night . Vjera 's story interested him and touched him , and her acts seemed to remind him of something which he nevertheless could not quite remember . Far down in his toughened nature the strings of a forgotten poetry vibrated softly as though they would make music if they dared . Far back in the chain of memories , the memory once best loved was almost awake once more , the link of once clasped hands was almost alive again , the tender pressure of fingers now perhaps long dead was again almost a reality able to thrill body and soul .