two o'clock
Many of the greater magnates hastened to deny with emphasis that they were in any way connected with the scheme . Several of them denounced the preacher as a dangerous man whose wild theories threatened social order . Gordon breathed a sigh of relief when he found not a line hinting at Kate Ransom 's part in the drama or linking his name with hers . After two o'clock , when he finished his last conference with the reporters and his friends , he went to a hotel where he was not known . He spent the rest of the night pacing the floor fighting to a finish the battle between the memory of Ruth and his children and his fierce new passion . Just before dawn he lay down and fell asleep , dreaming of Kate . The battle between the flesh and the spirit had ended .