nine o'clock
The great puzzle revolved about the strange actions of the girl ; her part in the affair presenting an unsolvable riddle . They must have talked for an hour , discussing the situation frankly from every angle , yet arriving at no definite conclusion . The sky in the east was red with dawn when both men fell fast asleep in their chairs , still waiting . It was nine o'clock , and still no word . The two had eaten a hasty breakfast in a restaurant across the street , discussing the situation again thoroughly , but to no more satisfactory result . It seemed impossible to reconcile certain facts . If the silver knife , with its call for help , had indeed been dropped by Natalie Coolidge , and she was being held a prisoner in the hands of villains on board the _ Seminole _ , why had she acted toward West as she did in that house on Wray Street ?