midnight
It was at this identical moment that Steve concluded it was too late for his wife ever to develop anything more than a double chin or so . During Beatrice 's house party , at which twenty or so equally Gorgeous Girls and their husbands were quartered in the Villa Rosa , while a string orchestra danced them further along the road toward nervous prostration each night , a fire ignited in the offices of the O'Valley Leather Company . Steve 's office and Mary 's adjoining room were damaged by water rather than by the slight blaze itself and during an enforced recess from work both Mary and Steve found that a fire in an office building may cause a loss of time from routine yet be a great personal boon . The day following the accident , Steve having been summoned at midnight to view the flames , Mary came to the office to try to rescue the files and sweep aside the débris . `` Nothing is really hurt , but they always mess things up , '' Steve said , coming to the doorway to hold up a precious record book . `` See this ? I wonder why they always leave such a lot of stuff to clear away .