midnight
They had not to look far . Folly is at no fault in the metropolis for food of whatever quality to feed upon ; and they were soon accommodated with excitement to their hearts content at a fashionable gambling saloon on Broadway . The colonel played with recklessness and daring that , if he carries it to the battle-field , will wreathe his brow with laurels ; but like many a rash soldier before him , he did not win . On the contrary , his eagles took flight with a rapidity suggestive of the old adage that `` gold hath wings , '' and when , long after midnight , he stood upon the deserted street alone with Philip Searle and his reflections , he was a sadder and a soberer man . `` Searle , I 'm a ruined man . '' `` You 'll fight all the better for it , '' replied Philip , knocking the ashes from his segar . `` Come , you 'll never mend the matter by taking cold here in the night air ; where do you put up ?