midnight
`` Yet he has red hair , '' murmured the guest to herself , and continued to look thoughtfully down the street along which the Green Imp had shot out toward the open ! country beyond . Out in that open country , miles away , the car running with that exquisite precision of rotating cylinder explosions which is music to the trained ear of the mechanic at the wheel , the two men sat silent . The pace of the Green Imp was one to cut off speech , for the road wets straight and empty , stretching like a white ribbon under the stars , with now and then a band of midnight shade crossing it where arching tree-tops met the course which invites an open throttle and the intent eye which goes with it . Suddenly the car struck aside from the straightaway and with open cut-out roared up a steep hill by means of which a narrow road led off toward a part of the country not often selected by motorists for pleasure spins . Chester recognized that his companion had a purpose beyond that of `` trying out '' his engine , unless , indeed , the tough and rocky grade were a test . But Burns was still silent , and the other man applied himself to holding on .