midnight
Soon , however , the town was left behind , and we had fairly started on our journey . There was no danger in it , except that of getting lost , which , with Castro for a guide , was not likely to happen . He knew the district as well as , perhaps better than , I knew the streets of Lima . We jogged along quietly till midnight , not wishing to tire the animals , and then stopped near the edge of a sandy desert for an hour 's rest . By this time I had begun to hate the very sight of sand ; it seemed to me more dreary and pitiless than the stoniest of barren ground . Castro did not mind in the least , but lay on his back looking at the starry sky and placidly chewing his coca . `` Come , lieutenant , '' said he briskly at the end of an hour , `` it is time to mount ; '' and we were soon plodding on as patiently as before .