cubbyhole

Gervaise felt the most pity for Pere Bru in his cubbyhole under the staircase where he hibernated.

A moment later the patrolman loomed up outside the cubbyhole door, the woman in tow.

But he marched away, back to the cubbyhole in which he had awakened.

He began to empty the cubbyhole of all the items that had been packed into it for storage.