about nine
o'clock in the morning
When she returned to the hotel in the evening , she was told that a man from M. Paul had asked for her , and was coming again the next day . All the blood in her body seemed to suddenly rush to her heart and she could not close her eyes all night . Perhaps it was Paul himself ! Yes , it must be so , although his appearance did not tally with the description the hotel people had given of the man who had called , and when , about nine o'clock in the morning , there came a knock at her door , she cried , `` Come in ! '' expecting her son to rush into her arms held open to receive him . But it was a stranger who entered -- a stranger who began to apologize for disturbing her and to explain that he had come about some money Paul owed him . As he spoke she felt herself beginning to cry , and she tried to hide her tears from the man by wiping them away with the end of her finger as soon as they reached the corners of her eyes .