a quarter to two in the morning
`` I 'm goin ' to a hotel , ef I do n't never lay up a cent . '' `` That 'll do f ' r you , '' said Smith ; `` but if you had a wife an ' three young uns dependin ' on yeh -- '' `` Which I ai n't , thank the Lord ! and do n't intend havin ' while the court knows itself . '' The station was deserted , chill , and dark , as they came into it at exactly a quarter to two in the morning . Lit by the oil lamps that flared a dull red light over the dingy benches , the waiting room was not an inviting place . The younger man went off to look up a hotel , while the rest remained and prepared to camp down on the floor and benches . Smith was attended to tenderly by the other men , who spread their blankets on the bench for him , and , by robbing themselves , made quite a comfortable bed , though the narrowness of the bench made his sleeping precarious .