nearly eight o'clock in the evening
She was as elusive as a will-o ' - th ' - wisp . But this could not go on forever , and , after one memorable visit to the postoffice , where he found a letter awaiting him from headquarters , Fyles determined to be denied no longer . His task was less easy than he supposed , and it was not until evening that he finally achieved his purpose . It was nearly eight o'clock in the evening . Up to that time his search had been utterly unavailing , and he found himself riding down the village trail at a loss , and in a fiercely impatient mood . He had just reached the point where the trail split in two . The one way traveling due west , and the other up to the new church , and on , beyond , to the Meeting House .