ten o'clock
Duroy had slackened his pace , a longing to drink parched his throat . A hot thirst , a summer evening 's thirst assailed him , and he fancied the delightful sensation of cool drinks flowing across his palate . But if he only drank two bocks of beer in the evening , farewell to the slender supper of the morrow , and he was only too well acquainted with the hours of short commons at the end of the month . He said to himself : `` I must hold out till ten o'clock , and then I 'll have my bock at the American café . Confound it , how thirsty I am though . '' And he scanned the men seated at the tables drinking , all the people who could quench their thirst as much as they pleased . He went on , passing in front of the cafés with a sprightly swaggering air , and guessing at a glance from their dress and bearing how much money each customer ought to have about him .