midnight
`` They may hold information of importance , '' said the under officer . `` Do not delay a minute ; '' and off went the crowd , the soldiers prodding the prisoners with their bayonets whenever Larry and Luke did not walk fast enough to suit them . The course taken was through a narrow and exceedingly dirty street . It was after midnight , yet the expected attack of the Americans had kept all the inhabitants awake . The prisoners were jeered at repeatedly , and at one point were covered with a shower of mud and stale vegetables . The onslaught might have been more serious had not the soldiers interfered . `` Get back , you dogs , '' shouted the leader , a little Tagal scarcely five feet in height , but with an air of magnificent importance .