eleven o'clock
Nothing more , he judged , was to be feared that night , from Milly Neal ; he could safely sleep over the problem . Having a certain sufficient religion of his own , McGuire Ellis still believes that a merciful Heaven forgives us our sins ; but , looking back on that evening 's decision , he sometimes wonders whether it ever fully pardons our mistakes . While he sat reading proof on the status of a flickering foreign war , the Hardscrabbler 's daughter , in a quiet back room farther down the block , slowly sipped more gin ; and gin is fire and fury to the Hardscrabbler blood . At eleven o'clock that evening , Dr. Surtaine , returning to that massive hybrid of architecture which he called home , found Milly Neal waiting in his study . `` Well , Milly : what 's up ? '' he asked , cheerfully enough in tone , but with a sinking heart . `` I want to know what you 're going to do for me ? ''