two past midnight
If he had in reality an object in prolonging his stay , and wished to make the postponement of his departure the direct interest of his entertainer , he unquestionably took effectual measures for that purpose . The little party broke up every evening at about ten o'clock , and Sir Wynston retired to his chamber at the same hour . He found little difficulty in inducing Marston to amuse him there with a quiet game of piquet . In his own room , therefore , in the luxurious ease of dressing gown and slippers he sat at cards with his host , often until an hour or two past midnight . Sir Wynston was exorbitantly wealthy , and very reckless in expenditure . The stakes for which they played , although they gradually became in reality pretty heavy , were in his eyes a very unimportant consideration . Marston , on the other hand , was poor , and played with the eye of a lynx and the appetite of a shark .