nearly midnight
`` You 've cinched the matter with me , '' he declared , after a moment . `` Get out your diamonds to-morrow ; I 'm going to take the night train to Ranger . '' Later that evening , after his guest had gone , Gray took occasion deliberately to put himself in Mallow 's way and to get into conversation with him . This was not a difficult maneuver , for it was nearly midnight and the lobby was well-nigh deserted ; moreover , it almost appeared as if the restless Mr. Mallow was seeking an acquaintance . For the better part of an hour the two men smoked and talked , and had Coverly overheard their conversation his blood would have chilled and he would have prematurely aged , for his distinguished host , Calvin Gray , the worldly-wise , suave man of affairs , actually permitted himself to be pumped like a farmer 's son . It would have been a ghastly surprise to the jeweler to learn how careless and how confiding his friend could be in an off moment ; he would have swooned when Gray told about his coming trip to Ranger and actually produced the misspelled Briskow letter for the edification of his chance acquaintance . Any lingering doubt as to his friend 's honesty of purpose would have vanished utterly had he heard Mallow announce that he , too , was going to Ranger , the very next night -- a curious coincidence , truly -- and Gray 's expression of pleasure at the prospect of such a congenial traveling companion .