midnight
His garments , which had been drying by the kitchen stove all night and which Imogene had deposited in a heap at his bedroom door , were wrinkled , but his face shone from the vigorous application of soap and water and , as his sister said afterward , `` You could see his complexion without diggin ' for it , and that was somethin' . '' His manner was subdued and he was very , very polite and anxious to please , but his appetite was in good order . Introduced to Imogene he expressed himself as pleased to meet her . Georgie he greeted with some hesitation ; evidently the memory of his midnight encounter with the boy embarrassed him . But Georgie , when he learned that the shabby person whom he was told to call `` Uncle Jed '' was , although only an imitation Santa Claus , a genuine gold-hunter and traveler who had seen real Esquimaux and polar bears , warmed to his new relative immediately . When the meal was over Jedediah made what was , for him , an amazing suggestion . `` Now , '' he said , `` I cal ` late I 'd better be gettin ' to work , had n't I ?