eleven o'clock
With the seven francs remaining she procured a pair of cotton gloves , a rose for her cap , and some shoes for Claude , her eldest boy . Fortunately the youngsters ' blouses were passable . She spent four nights cleaning everything , and mending the smallest holes in her stockings and chemise . On Friday night , the eve of the great day , Gervaise and Coupeau had still a good deal of running about to do up till eleven o'clock , after returning home from work . Then before separating for the night they spent an hour together in the young woman 's room , happy at being about to be released from their awkward position . In spite of the fact that they had originally resolved not to put themselves out to impress the neighbors , they had ended by taking it seriously and working themselves till they were weary . By the time they said `` Good-night , '' they were almost asleep on their feet .