eight o'clock
One day , while the excitement attending the second shooting was thus growing , Colonel French received through the mail a mysteriously worded note , vaguely hinting at some matter of public importance which the writer wished to communicate to him , and requesting a private interview for the purpose , that evening , at the colonel 's house . The note , which had every internal evidence of sincerity , was signed by Henry Taylor , the principal of the coloured school , whom the colonel had met several times in reference to the proposed industrial school . From the tenor of the communication , and what he knew about Taylor , the colonel had no doubt that the matter was one of importance , at least not one to be dismissed without examination . He thereupon stepped into Caxton 's office and wrote an answer to the letter , fixing eight o'clock that evening as the time , and his own library as the place , of a meeting with the teacher . This letter he deposited in the post-office personally -- it was only a step from Caxton 's office . Upon coming out of the post-office he saw the teacher standing on an opposite corner . When the colonel had passed out of sight , Taylor crossed the street , entered the post-office , and soon emerged with the letter .