midnight
He never had a chance , for I did not make a sound , '' Jerry interposed in German , before the young Boche could make even an involuntary admission . As they approached the base of the mountain where they had parted from Lieutenant Mackinson , Joe , and Frank early that day , the moon reached its zenith , and its beams , reflected upon the white ground , made the night almost as light as day . Two hours later they were upon the identical spot from which they had wirelessed headquarters in the morning . It was midnight now as two of the Germans , working under Jerry 's orders while Slim kept a weather eye on the others , set up the pack-set . Jerry worked the key half a dozen times and then got an almost immediate response . The first query after he had identified himself was : `` This is Joe ; where are you ? '' `` Just got back to where we left you this morning , '' Jerry ticked off into the air .