midnight
He was just as deferential as if Carroll had been seated at a table in Delmonico 's , but the fact remained that he was about to ask him again for his money . He was horribly pressed . He had obtained another position in one of the department stores , which paid him very little , and he was in debt , while his clothes were in such a degree of shabbiness that they were fairly precarious . The very night before he had sat up until midnight mending a rent in his trousers , which he afterwards inked ; and as for his overcoat , he always removed that with a sleight-of-hand lest its ragged lining become evident , and when ladies were about he put it on in an agony lest his arms catch in the rents . He had even meditated cutting out the lining altogether , although he had a cold . He was so in debt that he had stopped eating breakfast ; and the leaving off of breakfast for other than hygienic reasons , and when it has not been preceded by a heavy dinner the night before , is not conducive to comfort . So he bent low over Carroll and asked him in a small voice of the most delicate consideration , if he could let him have a little on account .