eight o'clock
What was the good of going to the station for a man who was not coming by the train ? What was the use of pretending to bring home a person who had never been away ? These and other equivocal problems defied solution when Natt essayed them . He revolved the situation fully on his way home from Mr. Bonnithorne 's , and decided that to go to the station that night at eight o'clock would be only a fine way of making a fool of a body . But when he reached the stable , and sat down to smoke , and saw the hour approaching , his instinct began to act automatically , and in sheer defiance of the thing he called his reason . In short , Natt pulled off his coat and proceeded to harness the mare . Then it was that , relieved of the weight of abstract questions , he made two grave discoveries .