ten o'clock
But he had never been seen in Doctor Lebensfunke 's neighborhood ; and , on the whole , Lottchen was inclined to attribute the Herr Doctor 's trouble to an indefinable something whose nature was broadly hinted at by more tapping of the forehead . Ronald Wyde mounted the stairs , locked himself in his room , and wished himself out of the scrape he was getting into . But , being in for it now , he lit a cigar , and tried to fancy the processes he would have to go through , and how he , a natty and respectable young fellow , would look and feel in a drunkard 's skin . His conjectures being too foggily outlined to please him , he put them aside , and waited impatiently enough for ten o'clock . A moonlight walk through the low streets , transfigured by the silver gleam into fairy vistas -- all but the odor -- brought him to Herr Lebensfunke 's house . Simple birdling , on the lookout for him , piloted him through the unsafe channel , and brought him to anchor in the dimly-lit room . `` All is ready , '' said the philosopher , as he trembled forward and shook Ronald 's hand .