seven in the morning
`` But I do n't think , sir , '' Peter added , `` they 'll attack before morning . They would n't be likely to try it in the dark , not knowing the nature of the place . '' The commander was of the same opinion , but to prevent the possibility of surprise he placed pickets at some distance round the fort , the scouts being , of course , of the party . The night passed quietly , but at seven in the morning Peter , Harold , and Jake , who were at some distance in advance of the others , saw the enemy approaching . They fired their pieces and fell back upon the outposts . Their position was rather to the right of the line of defense . The pickets were about to fall back when 70 men , being two companies of the Seventy-first under Captain Campbell , were sent out to feel the enemy .