nine o'clock
About four o'clock in the afternoon he went to the First National Bank and leaned over the railing of Longley 's desk . `` I 'll try to get that money for you to-night -- I mean to-morrow , Bill . '' `` All right , Tom , '' said Longley quietly . At nine o'clock that night Tom Merwin stepped cautiously out of the small frame house in which he lived . It was near the edge of the little town , and few citizens were in the neighbourhood at that hour . Merwin wore two six-shooters in a belt , and a slouch hat . He moved swiftly down a lonely street , and then followed the sandy road that ran parallel to the narrow-gauge track until he reached the water - tank , two miles below the town .