About six o'clock
But for once in his life , Mr. Brinsmade was too much agitated to inquire about the pain of another . `` Stephen , you did not tell me that you saw John , '' said his mother , when the door was closed . There was a dismal tea at Colonel Carvel 's house in Locust Street that evening Virginia did not touch a mouthful , and the Colonel merely made a pretence of eating . About six o'clock Mrs. Addison Colfax had driven in from Bellegarde , nor could it rain fast enough or hard enough to wash the foam from her panting horses . She did not wait for Jackson to come out with an umbrella , but rushed through the wet from the carriage to the door in her haste to urge the Colonel to go to the Arsenal and demand Clarence 's release . It was in vain that Mr. Carvel assured her it would do no good , in vain that he told her of a more important matter that claimed him . Could there be a more important matter than his own nephew kept in durance , and in danger of being murdered by Dutch butchers in the frenzy of their victory ?