five minutes past nine
Five minutes later the car was quivering with its increasing speed and McCarthy , looking at the gauge , saw that it registered forty-seven miles , and was still sliding forward . Fourteen miles across the rolling plateau the car raced with sustained speed , the engine humming in perfect tune and only the heavier vibration of the tires attesting the speed . At slower pace the car climbed among the ridge of hills that had been rising ahead , and after five miles of rougher going it turned into the old stage road . `` It 's five minutes past nine , '' said the girl , `` and we 've done more than forty miles already . The next forty is good and we 'll try to gain time . '' `` We ought to make it easily , '' he responded brightly . `` You 're a heroine . ''