nine o'clock
We had some ninety saddle horses with us to do the work , -- sufficient to mount fifteen men . One night we camped in a favorite spot , and as we had no cattle to hold that night , all the horses were thrown loose , with the usual precaution of hobbling , except two or three on picket . All but about ten head wore the bracelets , and those ten were pals , their pardners wearing the hemp . Early in the evening , probably nine o'clock , with a bright fire burning , and the boys spreading down their beds for the night , suddenly the horses were heard running , and the next moment they hobbled into camp like a school of porpoise , trampling over the beds and crowding up to the fire and the wagon . They almost knocked down some of the boys , so sudden was their entrance . Then they set up a terrible nickering for mates . The boys went amongst them , and horses that were timid and shy almost caressed their riders , trembling in limb and muscle the while through fear , like a leaf .