eleven o'clock
But he exacted that they should buy one article at a time . `` One piece at a time , if you do n't mind , '' he said , when they came up with their three-a-penny handfuls . It was not till later in the evening that he relaxed this rule . Well , by eleven o'clock he had cleared out a good deal -- really , a very great deal -- and many women had bought what they did n't want , at their own figure . Feverish but content , James shut the shop for the last time . Next day , by eleven , he had removed all his belongings , the door that connected the house with the shop was screwed up fast , the grocer strolled in and looked round his bare extension , took the key from James , and immediately set his boy to paste a new notice in the window , tearing down all James 's announcements . Poor James had to run round , down Knarborough Road , and down Wellington Street as far as the Livery Stable , then down long narrow passages , before he could get into his own house , from his own shop .