midnight
That was a stirring night at Almy . The general , contrary to habit , was very grave and quiet , saying little , drinking nothing , even the customary toddy being declined . The doctor , also contrary to habit , was drinking a little and thinking a lot , but saying nothing . An abstemious man , as a rule , and a temperate man at all times , he seemed inclined to sample his Monongahela more than once before midnight , when , having gotten his patients to sleep , he tried to do likewise . `` They are on an even keel again , '' said Bonner , referring to the two casuals , `` and I am not sorry to see it . '' Evidently there had been comparison of notes between Strong and Bonner , and an agreement of some kind , for both held that Willett had exceeded his authority , as well as his discretion , in conducting a single-handed charge on an outnumbering enemy , secretly hidden behind rocks and ridges . Strong 's men said that Lieutenant Willett , spurring hard , had called across the stream for them to follow him , and three of those nearest the bank plunged through the shallows and were barely three hundred yards behind him when , from their right front among the rocks at the foot of a bluff , the shot was fired that wounded the lieutenant 's horse , which veered at once and ran away down among the willows .