five
o'clock in the afternoon
Good-bye and good luck , Tullis . '' The little baron rode back into the city , accompanied by the shifty-eyed Cromer , while John Tullis sped off to the south , riding swiftly by the side of the stern-faced Captain Haas , an eager company of dragoons behind , a mountain guide in front . At that very moment , Loraine Tullis was comparing notes with Truxton King in the room beneath the armourer 's shop ; Count Marlanx was hiding in the trader 's inn outside the northern gates ; the abductors themselves were scattered about the city , laughing triumphantly over the success of the ruse that had drawn the well-feared American away on a wild-goose chase to the distant passes of Dawsbergen . More than that : at five o'clock in the afternoon a second detachment of soldiers left the city for the scene of the riots in the construction camps , twenty miles away . Surely the well-laid plans of the Iron Count were being skilfully carried out ! All afternoon and evening men straggled in from the hills and surrounding country , apparently loth to miss the early excitement attending the ceremonies on the following day . Sullen strikers from the camps came down , cursing the company but drinking noisy toasts to the railroad and its future .