midnight
The customers of the bar were poor Germans accustomed to endless drinking . Some one was paying for them , and on certain days even permitted them to invite the skippers of the fishing boats and tramp vessels . A gramophone was continually playing there , grinding out shrill songs to which the guests responded in roaring chorus . When war news favorable to the German Empire was received , the songs and drinking would redouble until midnight and the shrill music-box would never stop for an instant . On the walls were portraits of William II and various chromos of his generals . The proprietor of the bar , a fat-legged German with square head , stiff hair and drooping mustache , used to answer to the nickname of _ Hindenburg _ . The sailor grinned at the mere thought of putting that _ Hindenburg _ underneath his own counter ... .