midnight
A professional fireman could hardly have shown more expedition about dressing than Ned and Jack did , though hampered more or less in the operation by the darkness . They had been very careful to remember just where their guns had been placed , so that as soon as they donned clothes it was easy to snatch up these weapons , after which they burst out of the tent . The fire was beginning to revive , showing that some one must have tossed fresh fuel upon the smouldering logs . One glance that way told Ned several hours must have elapsed since he lay down , and that it was even now long after midnight . He would have been able to tell within an hour what time of night it was , had he been given a few seconds to look up at the heavens to note the position of the new stars in sight . The other fellows were coming crawling out from the larger tent when Ned and Jack reached the open air . All of them were carrying guns , as though laboring under an impression that the camp must be assailed by a rival force .