twelve o'clock
she exclaimed . `` Why _ ca n't _ it last ? '' `` Why , indeed , '' said Susan . `` Good night -- and do n't forget to send him by twelve o'clock . '' And she hurried up the steps without waiting for a reply . She felt that the time for action had again come -- that critical moment which she had so often in the past seen come and had let pass unheeded . He was in love with another woman ; he was prosperous , assured of a good income for a long time , though he wrote no more successes .