about three o'clock in the afternoon
Bog , having delivered the note , was to withdraw to the sidewalk , lie in ambush , till young Van Quintem came out , and then follow him to Miss Minford 's retreat . There he was to wait , and send a swift messenger to Mrs. Crull and old Van Quintem . It was not known that young Van Quintem had ever seen Miss Minford 's handwriting ; but , to make the game sure , the note had been written with a skill worthy of a counterfeiter , or that most dexterous of penmen , young Van Quintem himself . Bog commenced operations about three o'clock in the afternoon -- the hour when the gambler and debauchee , who have been up all the previous night , are ready to begin their feverish life again . He first visited a snug establishment near the lower end of Broadway . It was situated in the second story , over a nominal exchange office , and was the favorite resort of down-town brokers , who , having gambled on Wall street till the close of business hours , dropped in to flirt with Fortune an hour or two before going home to dinner . Sometimes their hour or two was protracted to six o'clock next morning , when they staggered home to breakfast and a curtain lecture together .