nine o'clock
I think it was natural that he should go as he did . He would have thought that had he written to me it would have seemed as if he wanted something from me , and anything would have seemed better to him than that . However , we must set about doing something at once . I shall go by the nine o'clock local to Swindon , and on by the night mail to town . Then I shall set a detective at work . He may find out from the porters if anyone noticed a lad arrive by the night mail this morning , and shall draw up carefully-worded advertisements . I shall write to Mr. River-Smith before I start .