midnight
He was afraid that the colonel would soon demand the immediate payment of his load of debts , and that , if unable to comply with the order , resignation from the army was the only possible outcome . And what should he do then , without a penny , without any useful knowledge , and with many luxurious habits ? Something must be done , he made up his mind , and he was going to employ the next day , a Sunday , to consider once more the various possibilities of raising a large sum , no matter how , to discharge all these liabilities , most of them small in themselves , but in their totality representing quite a fortune . Solaced by the hope that after all some mild hand would open and drop into his lap a small mountain of gold , he fell asleep ; the book slipped from his hands , and the lamp on the night table went out after midnight , since Borgert had forgotten to blow it out . He slept restlessly , and bad dreams pursued him . His load of debt developed into a nightmare that was pressing on his chest and threatening to crush out his life . When he awoke in the morning it was past ten .