midnight
He was used to toil himself , in weariness of body ; now he stood here master , was mind and soul and directing will . He felt it now for the first time , and it sent a thrill of triumph through every nerve of his body . But all through the long evenings he sat alone , reading , reading , and heard the horses stamping in the stable below . And when he crept into bed , well after midnight , there was only one thing that troubled him -- his utter loneliness . Klaus Brock lived with his uncle , in a fine house , and went to parties . And he lay here all by himself . If he were to die that very night , there would be hardly a soul to care .