about nine o'clock
The last ranks of the herd were now passing over the rails , while the first had already disappeared below the southern horizon . It was eight o'clock when the train passed through the defiles of the Humboldt Range , and half-past nine when it penetrated Utah , the region of the Great Salt Lake , the singular colony of the Mormons . In Which Passepartout Undergoes , at a Speed of Twenty Miles an Hour , a Course of Mormon History During the night of the 5th of December , the train ran south-easterly for about fifty miles ; then rose an equal distance in a northeasterly direction , towards the Great Salt Lake . Passepartout , about nine o'clock , went out upon the platform to take the air . The weather was cold , the heavens grey , but it was not snowing . The sun 's disc , enlarged by the mist , seemed an enormous ring of gold , and Passepartout was amusing himself by calculating its value in pounds sterling , when he was diverted from this interesting study by a strange-looking person who made his appearance on the platform . This person , who had taken the train at Elko , was tall and dark , with black moustache , black stockings , a black silk hat , a black waistcoat , black trousers , a white cravat and dogskin gloves .