midnight
It can do no harm to take whatsoever you will , for that which hinders may readily be cast aside . Now let us come to an end of tongue-waggin ' , for silence is our safest ally . '' As the old man had said , either Jacob or I should have known more of woodcraft than did he , but on this night I dare venture to assert that there were not above a dozen in Joseph Brant 's following who could have made their way through the thicket with less noise and in a more direct course than did he . From General Herkimer 's encampment in an air-line through the forest to Fort Schuyler was not more than seven or eight miles , and , despite our slow progress , for one can not travel rapidly when striving to advance without so much as the breaking of a twig , we counted on arriving in front of the enemy 's lines by midnight . And this I believe we did . The first intimation we had that our journey was approaching a close came when we suddenly saw , directly in our line of advance , a faint light amid the thicket in the distance , and Sergeant Corney , who had been leading the way , halted quickly . `` You lads are to remain here while I find out what portion of St. Leger 's force is in front of us , '' he said , in a whisper , and then it was that I ventured to dispute his authority , having , as I believed , good reason for so doing .