midnight
He did not find the `` boy '' particularly affable that night , but with an accursed and persistent geniality he succeeded in delaying me for the space of a few precious moments . At a distance , I saw her disappear into a lighted doorway against which her face and figure showed only in silhouette . Again I had lost her . I could hardly pursue her into the entrances of private houses , but I noted the location and went back to my apartments in the Hotel Hermitage with the comforting thought that we were in the same town and that by rising early the next morning , and searching tirelessly till midnight , I should ultimately be able to see her . Before sleep came to me a telegram was brought to my door . Aunt Sarah had succeeded in becoming involved in some ludicrous difficulty with the Italian customs officials . She implored that I come at once to her rescue .