midnight
Thus did Yancey Goree , as he rode past his old home , make , considering all things , the best showing that was in his power . Half a dozen people supping at a table in one of the upper-Broadway all-night restaurants were making too much noise . Three times the manager walked past them with a politely warning glance ; but their argument had waxed too warm to be quelled by a manager 's gaze . It was midnight , and the restaurant was filled with patrons from the theatres of that district . Some among the dispersed audiences must have recognized among the quarrelsome sextet the faces of the players belonging to the Carroll Comedy Company . Four of the six made up the company . Another was the author of the comedietta , `` A Gay Coquette , '' which the quartette of players had been presenting with fair success at several vaudeville houses in the city .