midnight before
One of the luckless slave-boys who now addressed him as `` Dominus , '' was waiting to tell him that a very gaunt , strange-looking man , with an enormous beard , had called to see him while he was out , and would return -- so the visitor said -- in the evening , for his business was important . `` Pisander , '' remarked Agias ; and he stayed in that evening to meet the philosopher , although he had arranged to share a dinner with one or two other freedmen , who were his friends . The man of learning appeared at a very late hour . In fact , the water-clock showed that it wanted little of midnight before he came . His explanation was that Valeria had called him in to read verses to a company of friends who were supping with her , and he could not get away sooner . Besides , the dark streets were full of bandits , and he had therefore taken a circuitous route to avoid attack . Agias had to let him ramble through all the details , although he knew very well that Pisander would never have taken so much trouble to come if he had not had information of the first importance to impart .