midnight
At another moment I heard , above the rattle of the rain , the creaking of the mangle in the cellar-kitchen on the other side of the street . At still another moment I heard the sound of quarrelling in the house opposite . A woman was screaming , children were shrieking , and a man was swearing in a thick hoarse voice . I knew what had happened -- it was midnight , the `` public-houses had turned out , '' and Mr. Wagstaffe had came home drunk . The night passed heavily . I heard myself -LRB- as I had done before -RRB- calling on Martin in a voice of wild entreaty : `` Martin ! Martin ! ''