about eleven o'clock
cried the little Duke , laughing , and they galloped on to the railway station . There Mr. Otis inquired of the station-master if any one answering to the description of Virginia had been seen on the platform , but could get no news of her . The station-master , however , wired up and down the line , and assured him that a strict watch would be kept for her , and , after having bought a hat for the little Duke from a linen-draper , who was just putting up his shutters , Mr. Otis rode off to Bexley , a village about four miles away , which he was told was a well-known haunt of the gipsies , as there was a large common next to it . Here they roused up the rural policeman , but could get no information from him , and , after riding all over the common , they turned their horses ' heads homewards , and reached the Chase about eleven o'clock , dead-tired and almost heart-broken . They found Washington and the twins waiting for them at the gate-house with lanterns , as the avenue was very dark . Not the slightest trace of Virginia had been discovered . The gipsies had been caught on Brockley meadows , but she was not with them , and they had explained their sudden departure by saying that they had mistaken the date of Chorton Fair , and had gone off in a hurry for fear they should be late .