two o'clock before
It was even whispered that they were the `` parties '' who were putting up the money to back the Black Diamond against the `` Hester Street Jackson . '' This in itself entitled them to respect . Van Bibber was asked to hold the watch , but he wisely declined the honor , which was given to Andy Spielman , the sporting reporter of the _ Track and Ring _ , whose watch-case was covered with diamonds , and was just the sort of a watch a timekeeper should hold . It was two o'clock before `` Dutchy '' Mack 's backer threw the sponge into the air , and three before they reached the city . They had another reporter in the cab with them besides the gentleman who had bravely held the watch in the face of several offers to `` do for '' him ; and as Van Bibber was ravenously hungry , and as he doubted that he could get anything at that hour at the club , they accepted Spielman 's invitation and went for a porterhouse steak and onions at the Owl 's Nest , Gus McGowan 's all-night restaurant on Third Avenue . It was a very dingy , dirty place , but it was as warm as the engine-room of a steamboat , and the steak was perfectly done and tender . It was too late to go to bed , so they sat around the table , with their chairs tipped back and their knees against its edge .