one o'clock in the morning
`` Of course you will bring one for yourself , Tom . '' `` I never refuse to take a glass with a gentleman , especially in such company as the present . '' They were soon engaged sipping their fuming punch , and in a very short time Ashton seemed the gayest and most voluble of the company . That night Mr. and Mrs. Reid waited long and anxiously for Ashton , but as he did not return they concluded he must have decided to remain at the Metropolitan , so at one o'clock in the morning they retired , not , however , without misgivings that all was not right . They slept long that morning , and when they had completed their toilets Mr. Reid found the Rochester _ Democrat _ lying at the door . He read it leisurely as he ate his toast and sipped his coffee , now and then reading an item which he thought would be particularly interesting to his wife . Suddenly he exclaimed : `` My God , it is Ashton ! ''