Nine o'clock
The very purpose of the universe enwrapped itself about their passion , and the untroubled stars kept vigils till the dawn . Daylight called them to begin the epic campaign they had mapped out -- the rescue of a race . After a visit to the patriarch 's grave , which they decked anew with blossoms and fresh leaves , they prepared for the journey in search of a suitable temporary home for the Folk . Nine o'clock found them once more on the wing . Stern laid a southerly course along the edge of the Abyss . He and Beatrice had definitely decided that the new home of humanity was not to be the distant regions of the East , involving so long and perilous a journey , but rather some location in the vast , warm , central plain of what had once been the United States . They judged they were now somewhere in the one-time State of Indiana , not far from Indianapolis .