about nine o'clock in the evening
`` Well , the envelope will give me some hope , if nothing else . '' Nat had a map of the route in his possession , and he spent nearly the whole day in watching the towns and villages through which the train passed . At Albany came a long wait , and he walked out on the platform to stretch his legs . Then the train went on its way down the shore of the Hudson River , and about nine o'clock in the evening rolled into the Grand Central Depot , at Forty-second Street , New York City . The great station was a revelation to Nat , and when he got out on the street , the lines of cabs , cars , and elevated trains made him stop short in utter bewilderment . `` This is ten times worse than Cleveland or Buffalo , '' was his comment . `` What a racket on all sides !