midnight
Now what a radical reversal of things this was ; what a jumbling together of extravagant incongruities ; what a fantastic conjunction of opposites and irreconcilables -- the home of the bogus miracle become the home of a real one , the den of a mediaeval hermit turned into a telephone office ! The telephone clerk stepped into the light , and I recognized one of my young fellows . I said : `` How long has this office been established here , Ulfius ? '' `` But since midnight , fair Sir Boss , an it please you . We saw many lights in the valley , and so judged it well to make a station , for that where so many lights be needs must they indicate a town of goodly size . '' `` Quite right . It is n't a town in the customary sense , but it 's a good stand , anyway .