eleven o’clock
Sandoz vainly tried a diversion by admitting Bertrand , the big dog , who grovelled at sight of the sugar-basin , and ended by going to sleep near the stove , where he snored like a man . Since the discussion on Fagerolles there had been intervals of silence , a kind of bored irritation , which fell heavily upon them amidst the dense tobacco smoke . And , in fact , Gagniere felt so out of sorts that he left the table for a moment to seat himself at the piano , murdering some passages from Wagner in a subdued key , with the stiff fingers of an amateur who tries his first scale at thirty . Towards eleven o'clock Dubuche , arriving at last , contributed the finishing touch to the general frost . He had made his escape from a ball to fulfil what he considered a remaining duty towards his old comrades ; and his dress-coat , his white necktie , his fat , pale face , all proclaimed his vexation at having come , the importance he attached to the sacrifice , and the fear he felt of compromising his new position . He avoided mentioning his wife , so that he might not have to bring her to Sandoz 's . When he had shaken hands with Claude , without showing more emotion than if he had met him the day before , he declined a cup of tea and spoke slowly -- puffing out his cheeks the while -- of his worry in settling in a brand-new house , and of the work that had overwhelmed him since he had attended to the business of his father-in-law , who was building a whole street near the Parc Monceau .