About three hours after midnight
They were not the only riders that night . Men were carrying along the whole frontier the news that the war had begun , that the death struggle was now on between Mexico and Texas , the giant on one side and the pigmy on the other . But the ride of the four in the trail of Castenada 's flying troop was peaceful enough . About three hours after midnight they stopped under the shelter of some cottonwoods . The Ring Tailed Panther took the watch while the other three slept . Ned lay awake for a little while between his blankets , but he saw that Urrea , who was not ten feet away , had gone sound asleep almost instantly . His olive face lighted dimly by the moon 's rays was smooth and peaceful , and Ned was quite sure that he would be a good comrade .