midnight
But he sat on the cinder-speckled plush of the smoker in a mood that was hardly revelry . `` By Jove , '' he said to himself , `` I got away just in time . Another month and I could n't have done it . '' It was midnight when he saw the lights of town , panelled in gold against a peacock sky . Acres and acres of blue darkness lay close-pressing upon the gaudy grids of light . Here one might really look at this great miracle of shadow and see its texture . The dulcet air drifted lazily in deep , silent crosstown streets .