midnight
Grenville sat back in his lumpy perch and blew , as before , on his coal . Its slender wreath of invisible smoke ascended pungently . The hour was still very early for nocturnal business to begin . The tiger might not come till midnight . Sidney reflected that the brute would doubtless eat before a drink would be desired . He regretted , vainly , that no bait had finally been provided . Even the fish they had only partially eaten for dinner might have been attractive to the tiger .