midnight
Several times , indeed , they wanted to abandon the attempt , declaring that it was impossible to go farther . But for Barbara 's persuasive urgency , they would have unhitched the horses and gone home , leaving the wagons to such fate as might overtake them . As it was , the caravan moved slowly onward , with many haltings and much of weariness . It was midnight when , at last , the flare of the torches told Barbara that the journey was done . Not knowing whither the wagons should be taken , Barbara bade Bob go and find Duncan . When the young man heard of Barbara 's arrival , he and Dick Temple hurried to her , full of apprehension lest the journey and the exposure should have made her ill , and fuller still of fear that the conditions of life in the camp might prove to involve more of hardship than she could bear . For the first time in his life , Guilford Duncan felt like scolding .