midnight before
`` About how many niggers live there now ? '' `` There ai n't more than half a dozen cabins left now . We can easy manage that many . '' It was a long rough ride , and in spite of their rapid pace it was some time after midnight before they saw the clearing where clustered the few cabins left of the plantation quarters of a well-known place , which in its day had yielded wealth to its owners . The moon was very bright , and , save for the sound of the horses ' feet , the silence was intense . `` Look sharp , '' the sheriff said ; `` that nigger ai n't sleepin ' much if he 's here , and he might try to slip off . '' The dogs were going faster now , and yelping a little .