three o’clock
The condition of Miss Lawrence was indeed serious . She passed from one attack of hysteria to another , and it required the constant attention of her fiancé and her mother 's friend to keep her from acts of violence . It was after midnight when she at last fell asleep , and Preston Cheney in a state of complete exhaustion was shown to a room , while the Baroness remained at the bedside of Miss Lawrence . When the Baroness and Mr Cheney returned to the Palace they were struck with consternation to learn that Miss Dumont had packed her trunk and departed from Beryngford on the three o'clock train the previous day . A brief note thanking the Baroness for her kindness , and stating that she had imposed upon that kindness quite too long , was her only farewell . There was no allusion to her plans or her destination , and all inquiry and secret search failed to find one trace of her . She seemed to vanish like a phantom from the face of the earth .