eight o'clock
He grew uneasy , morbid . Such occupations as he found to fill the hours when he was not at work grew insufficient . He came to hate the clubs , the restaurants , the theaters , and such social gatherings as he was now invited to . There was an evening when from sheer boredom he went home to his rooms as early as eight o'clock -- and the bottle of Old Piper came out of its hiding-place . The real struggle followed on that . He had not so far forgotten Emery Eland 's warning as to cease to put up a fight ; but he saw now that the fight would be a hard one . There was again a period in which he weighed the advantages of `` going to the bad '' with all sails set against a life of useless respectability .