five in the
afternoon
The fact did not seem in the least to surprise him , nor did he cast me a look beyond the ordinary glance of one stranger at another . Indeed Mr. Blake had no appearance of being a suspicious man , nor do I think at this time , he had the remotest idea that he was either watched or followed ; an ignorance of the truth which I took care to preserve by taking my seat in a different car from him and not showing myself again during the whole ride from New York to Putney . Why Mr. Blake should take a journey at all at this time , and why of all places in the world he should choose such an insignificant town as Putney for his destination , was of course the mystery upon which I brooded during the entire distance . But when somewhere near five in the afternoon I stepped from the cars on to the platform at Putney Station only to hear Mr. Blake making inquiries in regard to a certain stage running between that town and a still smaller village further east , I own I was not only surprised but well-nigh nonplussed . Especially as he seemed greatly disappointed to hear that it only ran once a day , and then for an earlier train in the morning . `` You will have to wait till to-morrow I fear , '' said the ticket agent , `` unless the landlord of the hotel down yonder , can harness you up a team . There is a funeral out west to-day and -- '' I did not wait to hear more but hurried down to the hotel he had pointed out , and hunting up the landlord inquired if for love or money he could get me any sort of a conveyance for Melville that afternoon .