midnight
Now you have had experiences worth talking of ; let us hear some of your doings out West , there ! '' Long and late that night the two friends sat together . Now that the first strangeness had worn off , and with it the consciousness of the divergence of the roads which they had travelled since the old days , Flint began to find his liking springing up as strong as ever , only the liking was of a different kind . It was after midnight when he came into the house , and betook himself to his own room . As he was pulling off his coat , he suddenly remembered his unopened letter . He smiled grimly , as it recalled the scene at the post-office , the glowering official , and the grinning bystanders . He was still smiling as he took the candle from the mantel-shelf and set it on the bureau , to which he drew up his one rickety chair .