eleven in the morning
But the spring was coming towards them , and Henry winced to think of it . Heretofore , the message of spring , in Henry 's estimation , had been a welcome to new clothes , golf , horseback parties , and out-of-door flirtations ; this season , it meant to him a falling-off in the motion-picture business . The spring was calling to him , but Henry had to discipline his ears . His working hours were from eleven in the morning until midnight ; he sat , day after day , in his constricted office , and glued his mind upon his problems . The Orpheum was still a sporting proposition to him , but even in sport , there come periods in which the last atom of nerve and will-power are barely sufficient to keep the brain in motion . Henry 's nerves were fagged , his muscles were twitching , the inside of his head felt curiously heavy and red-hot ; the spring was calling him , but he did n't dare to listen . The spirit of his Uncle John Starkweather was waiting to see if he came to the tape with his head down , and Henry was going to finish on his nerve .