noon
The shanties might have received a volley or two from some of the mounted bands , exasperated by futile searching , had not the escape of Homer 's prisoners made the guilt of the Cross-Roads appear doubtful in the minds of many . As the morning waned , the advocates of the theory that the gamblers had made away with Harkless grew in number . There came a telegram from the Rouen chief of police that he had a clew to their whereabouts ; he thought they had succeeded in reaching Rouen , and it began to be generally believed that they had escaped by the one-o'clock freight , which had stopped to take on some empty cars at a side-track a mile northwest of the town , across the fields from the Briscoe house . Toward noon a party went out to examine the railroad embankment . Men began to come back into the village for breakfast by twos and threes , though many kept on searching the woods , not feeling the need of food , or caring if they did . Every grove and clump of underbrush , every thicket , was ransacked ; the waters of the creek , shallow for the most part , but swollen overnight , were dragged at every pool . Nothing was found ; there was not a sign .