three in the morning
This evening , as he was strolling moodily through the suburbs , a voice hailed him in tones of the utmost cordiality . He looked up and there was an old pal , with whom he had been associated in many a merry bout and pleasant felony ; he had not seen the man for two years ; a friendly glass was offered and accepted . Two girls were of the party , to oblige whom Robinson 's old acquaintance sent for Blind Bill , the fiddler , and soon Robinson was dancing and shouting with the girls like mad -- `` High cut , '' `` side cut , '' `` heel and toe , '' `` sailor 's fling , '' and the double shuffle . He did not leave till three in the morning , and after a promise to meet the same little party again next evening -- to dance and drink and drive away dull care . ON a certain evening some days later , the two men whose faces were definitions sat on a bench outside that little public in the suburbs -- one at the end of a clay-pipe , the other behind a pewter mug . It was dusk . `` He ought to be here soon , '' said the one into whose forehead holes seemed dug and little bits of some vitreous substance left at the bottom .