eight
o'clock
The papers had been filled with accounts of the accident , and an enormous crowd from the county and many admirers of the fiery lyrics of the poet father had come from distant parts to honour his name . All business was suspended , and the entire white population of the village followed the bodies to their last resting-place . As the crowds returned to their homes , no notice was taken of a dozen men on horseback who rode out of town by different ways about dusk . At eight o'clock they met in the woods near the first little flag-station located on McAllister 's farm four miles from Piedmont , where a buggy awaited them . Two men of powerful build , who were strangers in the county , alighted from the buggy and walked along the track to board the train at the station three miles beyond and confer with the conductor . The men , who gathered in the woods , dismounted , removed their saddles , and from the folds of the blankets took a white disguise for horse and man . In a moment it was fitted on each horse , with buckles at the throat , breast , and tail , and the saddles replaced .