midnight
The hour was late before he was able to start his men out , and by that time Phil 's crew had pretty well covered the town and the surrounding country , though the posters of the latter territory had very long drives , and were not expected to return until very long after dark . Phil chafed under this , fearing that he would be obliged to miss the last train out that night , which would again put him on the same train with his rivals next day . One of his men would have a thirty-five-mile drive back after he had finished his day 's work . That would bring the man `` home , '' as the return to the car is called , long after midnight in all probability . Inquiry at the station and a wire to the division superintendent failed to get a special engine to haul Car Three out that night . But in his talk with the station agent Phil learned something that set him thinking . He pondered over the information he had obtained , for sometime .