midnight
He remembered it as the kind of place where an order of scrambled eggs was liable to come in , flaming , on a golden sabre . But Luba wanted the Solar Room , and Malone was not at all sure she would n't use blackmail if he turned her down . `` Fine , '' he said in a lugubrious tone . The place shone , when they entered , as if they had come in from the darkness of midnight . Along with the Universal Joint , it was the pride and glory of the Great Universal Hotel and no expense had been spared in the attempt to give it what Primo Palveri called Class . Couples and foursomes were scattered around at the marble-topped tables , and red-uniformed waiters scurried around bearing drinks , food and even occasional plug-in telephones . There seemed to be more of the last than Malone remembered as usual ; people were worrying about investments and businesses , and even those who had decided to stick it out grimly at Las Vegas and , _ enjoy _ themselves had to check up with the home folks in order to know when to start pricing windows in high buildings .