midnight
Their ultimate safety was due , in great measure , to Zeke himself . Familiar with every foot of the way , he was able to advise the chauffeur of the more dangerous points . Neither Sutton nor Brant had uttered a word of protest against undertaking the perils of this final stage , but both breathed a sigh of relief , when , at last , the car stopped in the clearing before the Siddon cabin , and the journey was safely done . The wooden wheels of the poplar clock in the cabin were whirring for the striking of midnight , when their noise was overborne by the grotesque , unfamiliar honkings of an automobile horn . With the second of the three blasts , the cabin 's door swung open , and in the light of it was silhouetted the tall form of Uncle Dick . `` Zeke ! '' he called ; and his voice was a little broken .