midnight
Meantime Theodore laid a firm steady hand on the arm of the drunken man , and spoke in a low quiet tone , `` Pliny , '' for he had too surely recognized the voice , and knew now beyond the shadow of a doubt that the `` poor wretch '' in question was Pliny Hastings , and that his drunken companion was the old friend of his boyhood , Ben . Phillips . So these three , whose lives had commenced on the same day of time , had crossed each other 's paths once more . With very little effort he persuaded the poor bewildered fellow to desert his whirling post , and a carriage returning empty from the midnight train came at his call , and the three were promptly seated therein , and the order given by Theodore , No . -- Euclid Avenue . A strange ride it was for him . His companions sang and yelled and quarreled by turns , until at last the sleepy stage came upon them , and this but for one thing was a relief .