midnight before
At nine o'clock in the evening rain began to fall . The night was pitch dark , except for an occasional jagged flash of lightning . When Madge , in advance of all the others , passed along only a few rods from the very spot where Harry had left Eleanor the latter must have heard nothing , for she made not the faintest outcry . It was almost midnight before Eleanor 's friends discovered that Harry was not with her . Not finding any of the party at the sulphur springs , Sears had lost his head completely . Instead of returning to poor Eleanor he went on to the Preston farm , hoping stupidly that Nellie had in some way been rescued and that he would find her there . The journey back home was a long , weary one .