4:30 in the afternoon
The baggage car was partitioned off into three compartments . One of these was never used , so Al was allowed to take that for his papers to which he added fruits , candies and other wares . `` The run down to Detroit took over three hours . His train did not start back till 4:30 in the afternoon , so the lad had about six hours in the big city . He took all the time he needed to buy stock to sell on the train and to eat his lunch . This left him several hours for reading in the Detroit public library , where he found more books on the subjects he liked , more answers to appease his never abating curiosity . '' `` Those were the anxious days of the Civil War , '' the lecturer continued , `` and every-one was worked up to a high pitch of excitement most of the time .