two o'clock
He had not it in his nature to regard pain as other than interesting . But the rending thought that she had suffered alone rather than risk his getting drunk -- that jerked him . He felt he could beat any weakness that night , as he recalled her eyes , trying to smile at him through pain , her hands as they clung to his for help . He lived a thousand lives during the next few hours until , at two o'clock , he heard the heart-stopping cry of a newborn child that brought stuffy London nights in the slums back to his mind for an instant until Mrs. Twist said , with an air of personal pride , that it was a boy . And then Louis cracked again ; kneeling beside Marcella , who was quite calm and very tired , he sobbed out his love and his penitence and his stern and frantic resolves for the future , his undying intention to be as good a man as she was until Mrs. Twist , who was not very used to emotional young men , packed him out of the way to take the news to Mr. Twist , who was sitting up waiting for it . The two women had never told Mr. Twist of Louis 's tragedy . He had guessed that he had been `` on the shikker '' that week he stayed away , but he took that as the ordinary thing done by ordinary men -- he himself was past `` having a burst , '' he had no heart for it now ; but no young man was any the worse for it if it did n't take hold of him .