midnight
In a moment the stillness and the dark shapes of the houses were exchanged for the open country , the rush of wind in the riders ' faces , and the pounding of hoofs on the hard road . For a brief while the sky cleared and the moon shone out , and they rode as easily as in the day . At the pace at which they were moving Sir George calculated that they must come up with the fugitives in an hour or less ; but the reckoning was no sooner made than the horses , jaded by the heavy ground through which they had struggled , began to flag and droop their heads ; the pace grew less and less ; and though Sir George whipped and spurred , Corsham Corner was reached , and Pickwick Village on the Bath road , and still they saw no chaise ahead . It was past midnight , and it seemed to some that they had been riding an eternity ; yet even these roused at sight of the great western highway . The night coaches had long gone eastwards , and the road , so busy by day , stretched before them dim , shadowy , and empty , as solitary in the darkness as the remotest lane . But the knowledge that Bath lay at the end of it -- and no more than nine miles away -- and that there they could procure aid , fresh horses and willing helpers , put new life even into the most weary . Even Mr. Fishwick , now groaning with fatigue and now crying ` Oh dear !