three o'clock
It was not yet eleven o'clock . Pierre , whom fatigue had suddenly mastered , forced himself to eat before going to bed , for he realised that want of food was one of the chief causes of the weakness which had come over him . He fortunately found a vacant seat at the / table d'hote / , and made some kind of a / dejeuner / , half asleep all the time , and scarcely knowing what was served to him . Then he went up-stairs and flung himself on his bed , after taking care to tell the servant to awake him at three o'clock . However , on lying down , the fever that consumed him at first prevented him from closing his eyes . A pair of gloves , forgotten in the next room , had reminded him of M. de Guersaint , who had left for Gavarnie before daybreak , and would only return in the evening . What a delightful gift was thoughtlessness , thought Pierre .