eleven o'clock before
` I think we shall do pretty well , ' he said ; ` my only bit of bad news is that I have n't been able to find any lodgings for you ; there 's but one hotel , and all the rooms are taken . ' Dick , who on such occasions always took time by the forelock , insisted on starting at once on their search -- and up and down the murky streets of the manufacturing town they walked until it was time for them to repair to the Mechanics ' Hall , where they were going to play , and get ready for the entertainment . ` The Mulligan Guards ' proved a great success , as did also the operetta , _ Breaking the Spell _ . Kate 's pretty face and figure won the hearts of the factory hands , and she was applauded whenever she appeared on the stage ; and so frequent were the encores that it was half-past ten before they had finished their programme , and close on eleven o'clock before they got out of the hall into the street . Then the search for lodgings had to begin again . Montgomery and Williams , being single men , obtained beds , but Kate and Dick were not so easily satisfied , and they found themselves standing under a porch with the lights going out on all sides , and the prospect of spending a wet night in the street before them . At last Dick bethought himself of the police station , but on applying to a policeman he was directed to the backdoor of a public-house .