eight o'clock
And with that I shut it in his face . I was improving , as Raffles had said ; but what would it profit me if some evil had befallen him ? And now I was prepared for the worst . A boy came up whistling and leaving papers on the mats ; it was getting on for eight o'clock , and the whiskey and soda of half-past twelve stood untouched and stagnant in the tumbler . If the worst had happened to Raffles , I felt that I would either never drink again , or else seldom do anything else . Meanwhile I could not even break my fast , but roamed the flat in a misery not to be described , my very linen still unchanged , my cheeks and chin now tawny from the unwholesome night . How long would it go on ?