two
o'clock in the morning
When , therefore , near the close of a certain day , Pontiac bade the Ojibwas hold themselves in readiness to repel an attack , which he had secret information the English were to make that night , Mahng smiled grimly ; for he believed his long-desired opportunity had arrived . In Fort Detroit the night after that of Gladwyn 's dinner party was one of sleeplessness , busy preparation , and intense , though suppressed excitement . The expedition intended for the surprise and destruction of Pontiac 's village , and the rescue of the Hesters , was about to set forth under command of Captain Dalzell . As it was believed that the Indians would be less on their guard just before dawn than at any other hour of the night , the line of march was not to be taken up until two o'clock in the morning . At that hour the great gate of the fort was thrown open and the selected troops , two hundred and fifty in number , filed silently out into the intense darkness of the sultry night . In close order and without the utterance of a word they marched up the river road , the black waters gleaming dimly on their right . Their left was bounded by the white houses of Canadian settlers , with their barns and orchards and cornfields .