midnight
On the night of Yasmini 's escape Samson sat sweating in his private room , with moths of a hundred species irritating him by noisy self - immolation against the oil lamp-whose smoke made matters worse by being sucked up at odd moments by the punkah , pulled jerkily by a new man . Most aggravating circumstance of all , perhaps , was that the movement of the punkah flickered his papers away whenever he removed a weight . Yet he could not study them unless he spread them all in front of him ; and without the punkah he felt he would die of apoplexy . He had to reach a decision before midnight . Babu Sita Ram was supposed to be sitting tinder a punkah in the next room , with a locked door between him and his master . He was staying late , by special request and as a special favor , to copy certain very important but not too secret documents in time for the courier next day . There were just as many insects to annoy him , and the punkah flapped his papers too ; but fat though he was , and sweat though he did , his smile was the smile of a hunter .