eleven
o'clock
At last we agreed that we could not stand it any longer , and made up our minds to go outside and sit down against the wall of the hut till it was safe to make a start , and then if we heard horses coming in the distance we could make a move at once . We each took a hat and cloak , a brace of pistols , and a rifle , and went out . There we sat for another hour , till the camp got quiet enough to make the attempt . Even then we could hear by the talking that many of the men were still awake , but we dared not wait any longer , for we calculated that it must be near eleven o'clock already . We chose a place where the fires had burned lowest , and where everything was quiet , and , crawling along upon the ground , we were soon down among the horses . We had been too long among the Indians to have a bit of fear about getting through these fellows ; and , lying on our faces , we crawled along , sometimes almost touching them , for they lay very close together , but making no more noise than two big snakes . A quarter of an hour of this and we were through them , and far enough out on the plain to be able to get up on to our feet and break into a long stride .