ten o'clock
When we got well out of sight of the house -- well , I 've seen mule colts play and kid goats cut up their antics ; I 've seen children that was frolicsome ; but for a man with gray hair on his head , old Bibleback Hunt that day was the happiest mortal I ever saw . He talked to the horses ; he sang songs ; he played Injun ; and that Christmas was a merry one , for the debt was paid and our little widow had beef to throw to the dogs . I never saw her again , but wherever she is to-night , if my prayer counts , may God bless her ! '' Early in the evening I had warned my boys that we would start on our return at ten o'clock . The hour was nearly at hand , and in reply to my inquiry if our portion of the beef had been secured , Jack Splann said that he had cut off half a loin , a side of ribs , and enough steak for breakfast . Splann and I tied the beef to our cantle-strings , and when we returned to the group , Sponsilier was telling of the stampede of his herd in the Panhandle about a month before . `` But that run was n't a circumstance to one in which I figured once , and in broad daylight , '' concluded Dave .