about midnight
Stakes were driven to mark the rise or fall of the water , and we settled down like prisoners , waiting for an expected reprieve . Towards evening a fire was built up and the two sides of ribs were spitted over it , our only chance for supper . Night fell with no perceptible change in the situation , the weather remaining dry and clear . Forrest 's outfit had been furnished horses from my remuda for guard duty , and about midnight , wrapping ourselves in slickers , we lay down in a circle with our feet to the fire like cave-dwellers . The camp-fire was kept up all night by the returning guards , even until the morning hours , when we woke up shivering at dawn and hurried away to note the stage of the water . A four-foot fall had taken place during the night , another foot was added within an hour after sun-up , brightening our hopes , when a tidal wave swept down the valley , easily establishing a new high-water mark . Then we breakfasted on broiled beefsteak , and fell back into the hills in search of the huckleberry , which abounded in that vicinity .