midnight
`` It is n't the dancing , it 's the drinking I 'm opposed to , '' said the priest , turning to Bryden . `` Well , no one has drunk too much , sir , '' said Bryden . `` But you 'll sit here drinking all night , '' and the priest 's eyes went towards the corner where the women had gathered , and Bryden felt that the priest looked on the women as more dangerous than the porter . `` It 's after midnight , '' he said , taking out his watch . By Bryden 's watch it was only half-past eleven , and while they were arguing about the time Mrs. Scully offered Bryden 's umbrella to the priest , for in his hurry to stop the dancing the priest had gone out without his ; and , as if to show Bryden that he bore him no ill-will , the priest accepted the loan of the umbrella , for he was thinking of the big marriage fee that Bryden would pay him . `` I shall be badly off for the umbrella to-morrow , '' Bryden said , as soon as the priest was out of the house . He was going with his father-in-law to a fair .