eleven o'clock
Though humiliating , it was nevertheless a fortunate move for the merchant , and he was lucky to get out of his own trap so well . Fred was looked upon at first by the villagers present as being without doubt guilty , but now they began to have some admiration for him ; and as the tide turned in his favor it set against the merchant , till at length our young friend was the more popular of the two . Fred 's father and mother both corroborated his testimony upon the point of his being at home all the evening on the night of the fire , and stated that he retired to bed at about nine o'clock . They were questioned by lawyer Ham as to whether Fred could have left the house and returned , unknown to them , between the hours of nine and eleven o'clock , when the fire was probably set . Their testimony upon this point evidently satisfied Judge Plummer that Fred was innocent of the charge John Rexford had brought against him , for after carefully going over the testimony on both sides , he said : `` I find nothing in the evidence that would tend to place suspicion upon Fred Worthington , who is charged with maliciously burning John Rexford 's store . The testimony for the prosecution has no real weight , while that for the defense is strong , indisputable evidence , that removes all doubt as to the boy 's whereabouts during the two hours when the fire must have been set , if it was set at all . I therefore discharge the accused , as no evidence has been offered that would justify me in holding him ; '' and then turning to our hero with a friendly smile , he added : `` Fred , you can go .