4 A.M.
Who did you say ? '' For the next five minutes there was snatchy , excited , and incoherent conversation over the telephone , during which Selwyn and I alternated in the talking in an effort to learn what Tom Cressy was saying at the other end of the line , and what it was he wanted me to do . Tom 's voice was not distinct and caution was making it difficult to understand what we finally got from him , which was that he wanted to bring Madeleine down to spend the night with me ; that they had started to go away to be married and missed the train by one minute , owing to an accident to the automobile they were in . The next train did not leave until 4 A.M. Could Madeleine stay with me until train time ? `` No , she ca n't ! '' Hand over the telephone transmission , Selwyn turned to me . `` They 've got no business mixing you up in this .