midnight
By late afternoon of the following day the New York detectives arrived and Wheeler drove their dusty and travel-stained car around to the garage . `` Must have speeded up some ! '' commented he , on viewing the throbbing machine . `` Left New York at midnight , '' they said . `` Some friends of the master 's likely , come to play golf . '' Ever given to frankness it was on the tip of Walter 's tongue to declare the real identity of the strangers , but fortunately he bethought him in time to halt the words . `` What did they look like ? ''