nearly midnight
I do not propose to record the convivialities of that evening . The inquisitive reader will accept the statement that the conversation was characterized by the same intellectual exaltation , the same cautious reverence , the same fastidious delicacy , the same rhetorical precision , and the same logical and coherent discourse somewhat later in the evening , which distinguish similar gatherings of the masculine sex in more civilized localities and under more favorable auspices . No glasses were broken in the absence of any ; no liquor was uselessly spilt on floor or table in the scarcity of that article . It was nearly midnight when the festivities were interrupted . `` Hush , '' said Dick Bullen , holding up his hand . It was the querulous voice of Johnny from his adjacent closet : `` O dad ! '' The Old Man arose hurriedly and disappeared in the closet .