ten
o’clock at night before
No other word was spoken , no other look exchanged , which had the slightest reference to this , the real occasion of their meeting . The trio were well accustomed to act together , and were linked to each other by ties of mutual interest and advantage , and nothing more was needed . Resuming his boisterous manner with the same ease with which he had thrown it off , Quilp was in an instant the same uproarious , reckless little savage he had been a few seconds before . It was ten o'clock at night before the amiable Sally supported her beloved and loving brother from the Wilderness , by which time he needed the utmost support her tender frame could render ; his walk being from some unknown reason anything but steady , and his legs constantly doubling up in unexpected places . Overpowered , notwithstanding his late prolonged slumbers , by the fatigues of the last few days , the dwarf lost no time in creeping to his dainty house , and was soon dreaming in his hammock . Leaving him to visions , in which perhaps the quiet figures we quitted in the old church porch were not without their share , be it our task to rejoin them as they sat and watched . After a long time , the schoolmaster appeared at the wicket-gate of the churchyard , and hurried towards them , tingling in his hand , as he came along , a bundle of rusty keys .