three o'clock in the morning
He produced $ 5,000 in bills from his trousers pocket , but secreted it again quickly as the waiter appeared . Patten got up and sauntered out into the barroom , returning presently with three men of his own brand -- broad-built , grim-eyed ruffians of the far north country -- three of Case Egan 's cattlemen . In the meantime Mrs. Haines was flustered not only by the prospect of meeting her distinguished friend , but by the tumultuous staging of the great hold-up scene that was to mark Pauline 's welcome . Hal had been up at three o'clock in the morning rehearsing the boys in their parts . He had set off at five o'clock for the station . As Pauline , trim in her traveling suit of gray and blithe in the clear Western air , tripped from the express , all Rockvale was there to meet her . Hal Haines , mighty man that he was in the region , was red with pride as the girl who could stop the express at Rockvale gave him her hand in happy greeting .