midnight
We will summon the agent who happened to be on duty at that hour , '' said the coroner . And a messenger was immediately dispatched to Lone to bring the railway official in question . In the interim , several of the household servants were examined , but without bringing any new facts to light . After an absence of two hours , the messenger returned accompanied by Donald McNeil , the ticket-agent who had been in the office for the midnight train of the preceding day . He was a man of middle age and medium size , with a fair complexion , sandy hair and open , honest countenance . He was clothed in a suit of black and white-checked cloth . He was duly sworn and examined .