nearly eleven o'clock before
And Bell bustled off . He was pleased to find a recent telegram of acceptance from Littimer awaiting him , and before five o'clock he was in the train for London . It was only after he left London that he began to crawl along . Thanks to slow local lines and a badly fitting cross service it was nearly eleven o'clock before he reached Moreton Station . It did not matter much , because Littimer had said that a carriage should meet him . However , there was no conveyance of any kind outside the station . One sleepy porter had already departed , and the other one , who took Bell 's ticket , and was obviously waiting to lock up , deposed that a carriage from the castle had come to the station , but that some clerical gentleman had come along and countermanded it .