nearly midnight
`` Do n't get up again unless I would tell you first . '' After leaving some more tablets , Doctor Eichendorfer took his leave ; and half an hour later Sam knew by the tantalizing odours that pervaded his bedroom that the family dined on stewed chicken with _ Kartoffel Klösse _ . For the remainder of the evening Sam lay with his eyes closed ; and whenever Babette approached his bedside with a tumbler of water and the box of tablets he snored ostentatiously . Thus he managed to evade the appetite-dispelling medicine until nearly midnight , when Babette coughed loudly . `` Popper , '' she said , `` I 'm going to bed and I want you to take your tablets . '' `` Leave 'em on the chair here , '' he replied , `` and I 'll take 'em in a few minutes . '' He watched her place the tablets on the chair ; and as soon as her back was turned he seized them eagerly and thrust them into the pocket of his night-shirt .