about nine o'clock
They made their way very cautiously toward the town , passing by abandoned houses and crossing fields , overgrown with weeds . Both the Ring Tailed Panther and Urrea knew San Antonio well , and Obed had been there once . They were of the opinion that the town with its narrow streets , stone and adobe houses was adapted particularly to defense , but it was of the greatest importance to know just where the new outworks were placed . The four came within sight of Mexican lights about nine o'clock . The town was in the midst of gently rolling prairies and as nearly as they could judge these lights -- evidently those of camp fires -- were about a quarter of a mile from San Antonio . They were three in number and appeared to be two or three hundred yards apart . They watched a little while but they did not see any human outlines passing in front of the fires .