midnight
_ I _ 'm not ashamed of being congratulated . Are you ? But if you 're so finicky about it , I 'll do the telephoning myself . '' Whereupon Mr. Mix went back to his room , and drank two highballs , and communed with himself until long past midnight . In the morning , with emotions which puzzled him , he turned to the society column of the _ Herald _ ; and when he saw the flattering paragraph in type , -- with the veiled hint that he might be the next candidate for Mayor , on a reform ticket -- he sat very still for a moment or two , while his hand shook slightly . No backward step , now ! His head was in the noose .