twelve o'clock
Tom did not have any opportunity to talk further with Mr. Parsons that night , for as soon as he had eaten supper he went to bed and was soon sleeping soundly . Tom felt the need of slumber , and when he thought he could do so without disturbing anybody , he slipped quietly down the stairs . There sat Mr. Kelley fast asleep on his dry-goods box , holding in his hand the copy of a newspaper about a fortnight old , and which he had been trying to read by the aid of the smoky candle that gave out just light enough to show how dark it was ; and as everybody else felt the need of slumber , and gave over to the influence of it wherever they happened to be , Tom threw off his boots and tumbled into his bunk . Once during the night he was aroused by somebody coming in and informing Mr. Kelley that it was twelve o'clock ; then there was a stir of changing watches and the camp became silent again . Or no ; it was n't silent . Just after the watches had been changed -LRB- for men had to keep track of the cattle during the night and see that nothing happened to stampede them -RRB- Tom was treated to a wolf serenade . It began faint and far off , and then all on a sudden broke out so fiercely that it seemed as if the pack had surrounded the cabin and were about to make an assault upon it .