midnight
`` It is more than probable , '' I answered , lightly . `` Make a poem of it , Salustri ; people will say you have improved on the Bible ! '' And I left him with a gay gesture to join other groups , and to take my part in the various dances which were now following quickly on one another . The supper was fixed to take place at midnight . At the first opportunity I had , I looked at the time . Quarter to eleven ! -- my heart beat quickly , the blood rushed to my temples and surged noisily in my ears .