midnight
`` Fine ! Never thought of that . '' Bob welcomed the suggestion with a delight that drowned Lorelei 's frightened protest ; then , as the idea grew in his mind , he joyously appropriated it as his own . A mere proposal of marriage and an acceptance were more or less hackneyed ; the event contained no elements of the spectacular ; but to follow it promptly with a midnight ceremony impressed him as a grandiose achievement and one calculated to shed luster upon his adventurous career . `` That 's my idea of romance -- that 's the way I like to do things , '' he declared . `` We 'll be married soon 's I pay this check . '' Fumbling through his pockets , he remembered that his last dollar had gone across Melcher 's gaming-table earlier in the evening , and cried in dismay , `` Hold on !