midnight
The five falcons were set in front of the hall doorway , where once Brian had come near to being nailed . Brian loosed another of the pigeons , telling Nuala how things chanced , and of the four pirate ships , and set the last bird in the tower in case of need , which proved a lucky thing for him in the end . Brian and his men slept after meat , while Turlough Wolf remained watching . It was wearing well on to midnight when the old man woke them all , and Brian went to the walls to hear a thud of hoofs and a murmur of men coming across the wind to him . He sent off men to loose the loaded guns on the outer walls at random , and then suddenly flung lighted cressets over the gates . A wild yell answered this , and bullets from the men who were filling the dry moat , while others scrambled across it and charged up to the gates with small powder-kegs and petards ready . This was not done without scathe , however ; Brian 's men loosed their muskets , and one by one the heavy bastards thundered out across the snow , though the result was hard to see in the darkness .