midnight
A childish , inexplicable , unforeseen terror made him fear he would find a man hidden in his garret . Never had he experienced such poltroonery . He did not even seek to account for the strange shudder that ran through him . He entered a wine-shop and remained an hour there , until midnight , motionless and silent at a table , mechanically absorbing great glasses of wine . Thinking of Therese , his anger raged at her refusal to have him in her room that very night . He felt that with her he would not have been afraid . When the time came for closing the shop , he was obliged to leave .