midnight
First , however , the coachman left Ellis at his boarding-house , which was near by . The two young men parted with as scant courtesy as was possible without an open rupture . Delamere hoped to find at the hotel some form of distraction to fill in an hour or two before going home . Ill fortune favored him by placing in his way the burly form of Captain George McBane , who was sitting in an armchair alone , smoking a midnight cigar , under the hotel balcony . Upon Delamere 's making known his desire for amusement , the captain proposed a small game of poker in his own room . McBane had been waiting for some such convenient opportunity . We have already seen that the captain was desirous of social recognition , which he had not yet obtained beyond the superficial acquaintance acquired by association with men about town .