eight o’clock
He readily divined whither they were going , but some irresistible force impelled him to follow them ; and before long , from an open doorway , in which he prudently concealed himself , he saw them look round to ascertain whether they were observed , and then slink , first the wife and afterwards the husband , into the dark passage of La Rouche 's house . For a moment Mathieu lingered in his hiding-place , quivering , full of dread and horror ; and when at last he turned his steps homeward it was with a heavy heart indeed . The weeks went by , the winter ran its course , and March had come round , when the memory of all that the young fellow had heard and seen that day -- things which he had vainly striven to forget -- was revived in the most startling fashion . One morning at eight o'clock Morange abruptly called at the little pavilion in the Rue de la Federation , accompanied by his daughter Reine . The cashier was livid , haggard , distracted , and as soon as Reine had joined Mathieu 's children , and could not hear what he said , he implored the young man to come with him . In a gasp he told the dreadful truth -- Valerie was dying . Her daughter believed her to be in the country , but that was a mere fib devised to quiet the girl .