midnight
Immeasurably mollified , he proceeded to unpack and put his house in order . By the time this was done to his satisfaction and Shultz had dragged the empty trunks into the hall , to be carried down-stairs and stored in the cellar , it was evening and time to dress . So Staff made himself clean with much water and beautiful with cold steel and resplendent with evening clothes , and tucked the manuscript of _ A Single Woman _ into the pocket of a light topcoat and sallied forth to dine with Jules Max and Alison Landis . It was late , something after midnight , when he returned , driving up to his house in a taxicab and a decidedly disgruntled frame of mind . Alison had been especially trying with regard to the play ; and Max , while privately letting the author see that he thought him in the right in refusing to make changes until rehearsals had demonstrated their advisability , and in spite of his voluble appreciation of the play 's merits , had given Alison the support she demanded . The inference was plain : the star was to be humoured even at the cost of a crippled play . Between love for the woman and respect for his work , desire to please her and determination not to misrepresent himself to the public , Staff , torn this way and that , felt that he had at length learned the true meaning of `` the horns of dilemma . ''