midnight
He should have taken old Donald 's advice and waited until they were in the mountains . An unpleasant chill ran through him as he thought of the narrowness of his double escape . To his surprise , John Aldous found MacDonald awake when he arrived at the camp in the thickly timbered coulee . He was preparing a midnight cup of coffee over a fire that was burning cheerfully between two big rocks . Purposely Aldous stepped out into the full illumination of it . The old hunter looked up . For a moment he stared into the blood-smeared face of his friend ; then he sprang to his feet , and caught him by the arm .