midnight
It was round , as a cup 's rim , and a mile or so in diameter . Opposite the cabin a trail came to the water 's edge , skirting the pond , save in cold weather , when it crossed the ice . They waited for a night when their tracks would soon disappear . Then , having made a cover of the sail-cloth sack in which they had brought the boy , and stretched it on withes , and made it fast to the sleigh box , they put the sleeping boy in the sleigh , with hot stones wrapped in paper , and a robe of fur , to keep him warm , hitched the dog to it , and came over hill and trail , to the little pond , a while after midnight . Here they buckled a ring of bells on the dog 's neck and released him . He made for his home on the clear ice ; the bells and his bark sounding as he ran . They at the cabin heard him coming and opened their door to dog and traveller .