eleven
o'clock
He was trying to think straight , but it was not easy . He knew that for some reason Edith had not waited until midnight to open the envelope . She had telephoned her message clearly , he had learned , but with great excitement , saying that there was a plot against his life , and giving the farmhouse and the message he had left in full ; and she had not rung off until she knew that a posse would start at once . And that had been before eleven o'clock . Three hours . He looked at his watch . Either she had been hurt or was a prisoner , or -- he came close to the truth then .