midnight
The thought of stealing had not entered his mind until near morning of the second night of the baby 's fast . They had been up with the starving child all night , and just before day he had gone into the back-yard to get some fuel to build a fire , when he heard his neighbor 's cow tramping about in the barn lot , and instantly it occurred to him that there was milk for the baby ; that if he could procure only a teacupful , it might save the child 's life . He secured a ladder and went over the fence , but being dreadfully afraid he had taken barely enough milk to keep the baby during the day and that night they were obliged to walk the floor again . It was only a little past midnight when he went over the fence for the second time . Upon this occasion he took more milk , so that he was not obliged to return on the following night , but another day brought the same condition of affairs and over the fence he went , and he continued to go every night , and the baby began to thrive as it had not done in all its life . Finally the food supply began to dwindle , he was idle , and his wife was unable to do hard work ; they had other small children who now began to cry for milk , and the father 's heart ached for them and he went over the fence one night prepared to bring all he could get . That day all the children had milk , but it was soon gone and then came the friendly night and the performance at the back fence was repeated .