two o'clock in the afternoon
But in truth he was so genuinely stimulated before the brief hour was over that when he returned to his rooms he wrote his column before turning in . He felt as if fiery swords were playing about his mind , flashing out words and phrases that would make his brother columnists , no sluggards in words and phrases themselves , green on the morrow . For the moment he was quite happy , as he always was when his mind was abnormally quickened , and he dismissed women and their infernal whims to limbo . When he awoke at two o'clock in the afternoon his brain felt like the ashes of a bonfire and his spirits were a leaden weight . He knew what was to be expected of reaction , however , and after his punch bag and showers he felt better . He 'd see her today and force some sort of understanding . But when he opened his door and saw a letter in her handwriting , and evidently delivered by a servant , as it was unstamped , his hand shook and his half-recovered confidence fled .