midnight
` Oh no ! Things have n't got so far as that . What a hasty fellow you are , Earwaker ! I told you distinctly ' -- He talked till after midnight , and at leave-taking apologised profusely for wasting his friend 's valuable time . Earwaker awaited with some apprehension the result of Malkin 's visit to Wrotham . But the report of what took place on that occasion was surprisingly commonplace . Weeks passed , and Malkin seldom showed himself at Staple Inn ; when he did so , his talk was exclusively of Miss Maccabe ; all he could be got to say of the young ladies at Wrotham was , ` Nice girls ; very nice girls .