midnight
He had stopped singing as abruptly as he had begun . I had not been home for thirty-six hours , since the morning of the preceding day . Johnson was not in sight , and I let myself in quietly with my latchkey . It was almost midnight , and I had hardly settled myself in the library when the bell rang and I was surprised to find Hotchkiss , much out of breath , in the vestibule . `` Why , come in , Mr. Hotchkiss , '' I said . `` I thought you were going home to go to bed . '' `` So I was , so I was . ''