midnight
According to this man , the case was very involved , the pleadings would be very lengthy , and success was doubtful . Moreover , it would require money , and plenty of it . Antoine treated his mother yet more harshly that evening . Not knowing on whom else to wreak his vengeance , he repeated his accusation of the previous day ; he kept the wretched woman up till midnight , trembling with shame and fright . Adelaide having informed him that Pierre made her an allowance , he now felt certain that his brother had pocketed the fifty thousand francs . But , in his irritation , he still affected to doubt it , and did not cease to question the poor woman , again and again reproaching her with misconduct . Antoine soon found out that , alone and without resources , he could not successfully carry on a contest with his brother .