midnight
I 'm a thinkin ' we 'll have to be a gettin ' rails . '' The senator despairingly steps out , picking gingerly for some firm foothold ; down goes one foot an immeasurable depth , -- he tries to pull it up , loses his balance , and tumbles over into the mud , and is fished out , in a very despairing condition , by Cudjoe . But we forbear , out of sympathy to our readers ' bones . Western travellers , who have beguiled the midnight hour in the interesting process of pulling down rail fences , to pry their carriages out of mud holes , will have a respectful and mournful sympathy with our unfortunate hero . We beg them to drop a silent tear , and pass on . It was full late in the night when the carriage emerged , dripping and bespattered , out of the creek , and stood at the door of a large farmhouse . It took no inconsiderable perseverance to arouse the inmates ; but at last the respectable proprietor appeared , and undid the door .