midnight
`` But it 's nearly midnight , Ruth . You ca n't do it , '' protested Mrs. Presby . There was little time for discussion and objection , and in the end the chest was again loaded into the car and the four `` Automobile Girls '' and Bob Stevens set off for Chicago , Miss Sallie promising to telephone to Mr. Stuart that the girls were on their way . It was a wild midnight ride into Chicago . The girls became convinced that they were being followed , but by turning off her lights and driving into a private lane until the following car had flashed by and then taking a longer but little-used road into the city , Ruth evaded the pursuers , if such they were . Nor did they see the car again until they drew up in front of the Stuart house in the brilliantly light street and with a policeman in plain sight . Mr. Stuart and Mr. Presby spent the night in making an inventory and the morning before the opening of the market in calling up their bankers and lawyers .