three
o'clock
He liked Mercury much better than Venus ; and indeed he was so fond of every kind of game , that one might almost say he was born to play , for his whole life was devoted to it . He lived alone with his housekeeper , man-servant , and cook . He got up between ten and eleven in the morning , and after making his toilette he repaired to the confectioner 's shop of Doña Romana , where he found congenial spirits , who told him all the current gossip of the place , and when this was exhausted , he withdrew to the dark , greasy-looking little room , pervaded by an overpowering smell of pastry , at the back of the shop , and there seating himself at a table , which matched its surroundings in dinginess , he indulged in a glass of sherry , and a game of dominoes with Don Baltasar Reinoso , who was one of the many who lived in Lancia on an income of four or five thousand pesetas . At three o'clock he repaired to the Mercantile Club , where , with three of the Indians , who formed the nucleus of that social gathering , he indulged in the classic game of _ chapo _ -LSB- F -RSB- until five o'clock , when , if we went to the house of the dean of the cathedral , we should come across this gentleman enjoying his daily game of _ tresillo _ with the dignitary of the church , and the rector of San Rafael . When the _ chapo _ went on longer than usual , an acolyte appeared at the club to tell him that his friends were waiting . Then Moro hastened to give the three or four final strokes , the boy , between them , helping him on with his coat to save time ; then , after paying or receiving the balance of his account with trembling hands , he ran in breathless haste to the house of the dean . There the _ tresillo _ lasted till eight o'clock .