midnight
And being answered in the affirmative , he took them out and put them into the carriage , that was immediately started at a rate that astonished the usually steady-going horses . The journey was made almost in silence . Mrs. Fanning wept quietly behind her pocket-handkerchief , and Alden and Emma sat with their hands clasped in each other 's in mute sympathy . It was some time after midnight when the carriage entered Wendover and drew up before the old Reindeer Hotel . Lights about the house at that hour showed that something very unusual was transpiring within . Hezekiah Greenfield himself came out to meet the party from Blue Cliffs . With much gravity he greeted them , and to Mrs. Fanning 's agonized inquiries about her daughter , he answered : `` I ca n't well tell you how she is , ma'am .