three in the morning
He spent money like a prince of fiction . And then a weird and gorgeous musical comedy engaged their attention . Afterward there was a late supper in a grillroom , with champagne , and Kernan at the height of his complacency . Half-past three in the morning found them in a corner of an all-night café , Kernan still boasting in a vapid and rambling way , Woods thinking moodily over the end that had come to his usefulness as an upholder of the law . But , as he pondered , his eye brightened with a speculative light . `` I wonder if it 's possible , '' he said to himself , `` I won-der if it 's pos-si-ble ! '' And then outside the café the comparative stillness of the early morning was punctured by faint , uncertain cries that seemed mere fireflies of sound , some growing louder , some fainter , waxing and waning amid the rumble of milk wagons and infrequent cars .