midnight
I need him -- and he needs me ! '' `` Yes ; he does need you , '' says I. `` He 's needed you for a long time . But you would n't like to see him now ; he 's changed a heap . He ai n't got a friend left on earth except me , and that ends at midnight . He 's had it pretty rough , when you come to think it all over , '' says I. `` I must go in , Curly , '' says she . `` No ; you ca n't , '' says I. `` I 'm foreman and I wo n't let you . He would n't want it ; he 's marked you off his books -- we just been doing that today , with a lawyer and a barber . ''