midnight
Plenty of room in this hotel without chucking the other guests out of their nests . '' After a while they made themselves comfortable . Tubby , before turning in , had prowled around a little . He told the others that as a true scout he was only taking an inventory of his surroundings , so that if there should happen to come a sudden midnight alarm he at least would know what to do in order to lead the way out of the barn by a rear exit . `` Smart boy , Tubby , '' Merritt told him , when he heard him say this ; and it always pleased the fat scout to receive a word of praise , possibly because the occasions when he deserved any were few and far between . They lay in the sweet hay , and talked in low tones . No one else seemed to be pushed so hard for a place to sleep as to come to the barn , for which all of the chums professed to be very grateful .