nearly midnight
Sarves him right , too . Now them two is after Kidd 's money . Always knew old Hanz could tell where it was . '' The inn-keeper and his friends now returned to the inn and discussed the matter over warm punch until nearly midnight , or until their wits became so confused that the four men in the boat increased to forty . In short , Nyack waked up on the following morning to find herself filled with the wildest reports concerning this midnight expedition and its object . The little boat moved on steadily up the stream , her sturdy oarsmen pulling at a measured stroke through the bewildering fog . In this way the boat was kept on up the river until past midnight , a glimpse of the land being caught here and there , an assurance to Hanz that they were not far out at sea .