six until twelve
He grew angry and swore . Sometimes he was so stirred by the meaninglessness of whatever way of life offered itself that he was tempted to leave the city and become a tramp , one of the hordes of adventurous dissatisfied souls who spend their lives drifting back and forth along the American railroads . He continued to work in the South State Street restaurant that got its patronage from the underworld . In the evenings from six until twelve trade was quiet and he sat reading books and watching the restless thrashing crowds that passed the window . Sometimes he became so absorbed that one of the guests sidled past and escaped through the door without paying his bill . In State Street the people moved up and down nervously , wandering here and there , going without purpose like cattle confined in a corral . Women in cheap imitations of the gowns worn by their sisters two blocks away in Michigan Avenue and with painted faces leered at the men .