midnight
It was a `` hip-pocket '' crowd , and while there was no public drinking , the high-pitched volubility of the merrymakers was plainly of alcoholic origin . Gray realized that he was in for an ordeal , for he had become too well known to escape notice . Consternation filled him , therefore , at thought of the effect his presence here might have . But the music went straight to Buddy 's feet ; syncopation intoxicated him much as the throbbing of midnight drums and the pounding of tom-toms mesmerizes a voodoo worshiper , and he whirled Miss Montague away in his arms without so much as an apology to his other guest . There was nothing conservative about Buddy 's dancing . He embellished his steps with capricious figures , and when he led his partner back to the table where he had left Gray , like a sailor marooned upon a thirsty atoll , he was red faced and perspiring ; his enthusiasm was boiling over . `` Dawg - _ gone !