midnight
He thought it would hardly pay to try and snatch an hour 's restless sleep when so much was going on around them . And , then , besides , he did not trust the prisoner wholly ; believing it would be just as well to keep an eye on him . Outside , all seemed as usual . It was long after midnight now , and if one listened carefully he could catch the customary noises of the woods at such a time , from the soft crooning of the breeze as it sighed through the pine tops , to the occasional note of some night-bird calling to its mate , or the plaintive voice of a hungry young coon waiting impatiently the return of its foraging mother . Obed had thrown himself down on the cot , but Max knew he did not expect to lose himself in slumber . Several times he saw the woods boy raise his head and look in the direction of the sprawling figure of the man under the spare blanket . Obed was undoubtedly thinking still of ways whereby he might force a confession from the lips of the stubborn man ; apparently he seemed to be intensely interested in discovering whether there was a power behind this raid on his enterprise .