two in the morning
Each tried to steal clandestine interviews with her , but at the critical moment the other would always turn up . By and by Eng saw , with distraction , that Chang had won the girl 's affections ; and , from that day forth , he had to bear with the agony of being a witness to all their dainty billing and cooing . But with a magnanimity that did him infinite credit , he succumbed to his fate , and gave countenance and encouragement to a state of things that bade fair to sunder his generous heart-strings . He sat from seven every evening until two in the morning , listening to the fond foolishness of the two lovers , and to the concussion of hundreds of squandered kisses -- for the privilege of sharing only one of which he would have given his right hand . But he sat patiently , and waited , and gaped , and yawned , and stretched , and longed for two o'clock to come . And he took long walks with the lovers on moonlight evenings -- sometimes traversing ten miles , notwithstanding he was usually suffering from rheumatism . He is an inveterate smoker ; but he could not smoke on these occasions , because the young lady was painfully sensitive to the smell of tobacco .