five o’clock
For the rest , he had retained his own garments . No one paid any attention to him as he trudged along beside his donkeys , an insignificant rear guard , which he was well content to be . They made the tour of the town , in which the activity was already above the normal in preparation for next week 's fair . At intervals they halted , the cacophony would cease abruptly , and Polichinelle would announce in a stentorian voice that at five o'clock that evening in the old market , M. Binet 's famous company of improvisers would perform a new comedy in four acts entitled , `` The Heartless Father . '' Thus at last they came to the old market , which was the groundfloor of the town hall , and open to the four winds by two archways on each side of its length , and one archway on each side of its breadth . These archways , with two exceptions , had been boarded up . Through those two , which gave admission to what presently would be the theatre , the ragamuffins of the town , and the niggards who were reluctant to spend the necessary sous to obtain proper admission , might catch furtive glimpses of the performance .