two in the morning
Combat had joined early in the evening , when a seeming chance remark of Ernestine had enabled Aaron Hancock to fling the first bomb into the thick of O'Hay 's deepest convictions . Dar Hyal , a willing and eager ally , had charged around the flank with his blastic theory of music and taken O'Hay in reverse . And the battle had raged until the hot-headed Irishman , beside himself with the grueling the pair of skilled logomachists were giving him , accepted with huge relief the kindly invitation of Terrence McFane to retire with him to the tranquillity and repose of the stag room , where , over a soothing highball and far from the barbarians , the two of them could have a heart to heart talk on real music . At two in the morning , wild-eyed and befuddled , O'Hay had been led to bed by the upright-walking and unshakably steady Terrence . `` Never mind , '' Ernestine had told O'Hay later , with a twinkle in her eye that made him guess the plot . `` It was only to be expected . Those rattle-brained philosophers would drive even a saint to drink . ''