about midnight
While this conversation was going on Rodney noticed that the captain was constantly on his guard , and that as often as they reached a place where the woods came down close to the road on each side , his men closed up the ranks without waiting for orders . Every house they passed was as dark as a dungeon , and no sounds of music and dancing came from the negro quarters . The people , white and black , had gone into their houses and barred their doors to wait until these unwelcome visitors in gray had taken themselves out of the neighborhood . Before the captain went into camp , which he did about midnight , Tom Percival , as we shall continue to call him , had ample time to question the lieutenant and find out where his regiment was stationed and when he expected to join it . The last question , however , was one that the young officer could not answer with any degree of accuracy . `` You see we have some men with us who are not in uniform , do you not ? '' said he .