three o'clock in the
morning
This was a terrible disappointment , which seemed to menace the success of their venture . But Captain Goritz determined to go on as rapidly as possible , trusting to reach their destination before the royal party left its train , hoping that the sight of Countess Strahni by the Duchess would be sufficient to let down any official barriers which might be interposed . But an unforeseen difficulty at Brod still further delayed them , a difficulty which required all of the ingenuity of Captain Goritz to get them once more upon their way . It was three o'clock in the morning , when having made some necessary repairs to the machine , they reached the Austrian end of the great bridge across the Save . Here they were halted by an iron chain across the bridge entrance and a police officer who , it seemed , looked upon their night traveling with suspicion . Captain Goritz protested indignantly and produced his papers , which the officer inspected by the dim light of an ancient lantern held by a subordinate . `` I am sorry , '' he said firmly , `` but no motor cars are permitted to cross into Bosnia until tomorrow morning . ''