nine o'clock in the evening
He had no other hitching rope than her bridle . The mare gave one final jerk and shake of her head and was free . Quite innocent of the mischief her desertion would cause , she trotted back to her own stable at the Prestons . At nine o'clock in the evening rain began to fall . The night was pitch dark , except for an occasional jagged flash of lightning . When Madge , in advance of all the others , passed along only a few rods from the very spot where Harry had left Eleanor the latter must have heard nothing , for she made not the faintest outcry . It was almost midnight before Eleanor 's friends discovered that Harry was not with her .