midnight
She led the way to the dining-room and ordered coffee . `` Now tell me , '' she demanded breathlessly . `` It 's a mixed-up business , '' said Gray , holding his numb hands to the blaze . `` We left here early in the night and worked on a wrong trail till midnight . Then a train-man out at the Junction gave us a clue , and we got a couple of bloodhounds and traced Wilson as far as Ellersberg . '' `` Go on ! '' said Ruth , shuddering .