midnight
Foot by foot the young people retraced their way over the same road , looking for the fluttering signal of Harry 's white handkerchief and the waiting horse . The horse , of course , had run off , and at first it seemed impossible to find the handkerchief . Madge was desperate . It was her fault that poor Nellie was alone at midnight in the rain with her injured shoulder . If only Madge had begged Eleanor to ride on faster , she knew that Eleanor would have consented . It was only because she had commanded it that her cousin had been so obstinate . The other members of the Preston household were almost as miserable as Madge .