midnight
Quincy knew too much , to press the question to a decision that evening . He had learned by experience that Alice never said yes or no until her mind was made up , and he knew that the answer was more likely to be favorable if he gave her plenty of time for reflection ; besides , he thought that Alice might wish to know more particularly what his aunt said , for she would be likely to consider that his aunt must have some reason for giving such an invitation to two persons who were virtually strangers to her . After supper , the third story , How He Lost Both Name and Fortune , was read and corrected , and it was the unusually late hour of eleven o'clock before the lights in the Pettengill house were extinguished . It was past midnight when Quincy sought his room at Mrs. Hawkins 's boarding house , and the picture of Alice Pettengill , that he had purloined so long ago , stood on a little table at the head of his bed , leaning against a large family Bible , which he found in the room . The next morning he was up early , and visited the grocery store . Mr. Strout and Hiram both assured him that business had picked up amazingly , and was really `` splendid . '' The new wagons were building up trade very fast .