one in the
afternoon
Inquiries at the little eating-house only served to verify the report of the station-guard . There would be no train before nine o'clock , and that was a very slow one ; what we would call a `` local '' in the States . Sometimes , according to the proprietress , it was so slow that it did n't get in at all . It had been known to amble in as late as one in the afternoon , but when it happened to be later than that it ceased to have an identity of its own and came in as a part of the two o'clock train . Moreover , it carried nothing but third-class carriages and more often than not it had as many as a dozen freight cars attached . There was not the slightest probability that the fastidious Mrs. Titus would travel by such a train , so we were forced to the conclusion that something had gone wrong with the plans . Very dismally we prepared for the long drive home .