midnight
I let him think , not having the heart to prong him again so quick . And the game goes merrily on , with Sandy collecting steadily on his hunch and Cora Wales telling her husband the truth about himself every time one of these three numbers did n't win ; she exposed some very distressing facts about his nature the time she put five apiece on the three numbers and the single-o come up . It was a mad life , that last hour , with a lot of other enraged ladies round the layout , some being mad because they had n't had money to play the hunch with , and others because they had n't had the nerve . Then somebody found it was near midnight and the crowd begun to fall away . Cousin Egbert strolls by and says do n't quit on his account -- that they can stick there and play their hunch till the bad place freezes over , for all he cares ; and he goes over to the bar and takes a drink all by himself , which in him is a sign of great mental disturbance . Then , for about twenty minutes , I was chatting with the Mes-dames Ballard and Price about what a grand success our part had been , owing to Sandy acting the fool with Cousin Egbert 's money , which the latter ai n't wise to yet . When I next notice the game a halt has been called by Cora Wales .