midnight
The anteroom was open ; the glazed doors to the private office were closed , but excited voices arose from within . He recognized Allison 's , Wells 's , and that of the chairman of the board of trustees , in hot altercation . The chairman seemed siding with Wells , which added to Allison 's wrath , and he wound up with an explosion : `` I 've given you more than reason enough . She has been shut up here alone with him time and again at night ; she has been seen going to his rooms long after dark ; she has been seen walking or driving with him as late as midnight ; and the very evening he is due at a gentleman 's house at dinner he sends ` urgent business ' as his plea , and is found supping alone with her at the Belmont . If she stays , I resign . '' `` And I answer , '' thundered Wells , `` that that girl 's as pure-hearted a woman as ever lived . She has been shut up here with me time and again , working at my letters until late at night ; she has been to my rooms a dozen times to leave her finished work on her homeward way ; she has been seen , or could have been seen , walking or driving with me late at night , for I 'm proud to say I 've taken her home instead of letting her go it alone in the rain ; and as for the Belmont , it 's the nearest and neatest restaurant I know of , and a dozen times when we had work to be finished in a hurry have I taken her , as Mr. Forrest did , to have her cup of tea there , instead of letting her tramp two miles to get it at home .