about three in the morning
`` It 's to-night or never , '' whispered Dick to Albert within the shelter of the lodge . `` They 've never taken the trouble to bind us , and that gives us at least a fighting chance . '' `` When shall we slip out ? '' `` Not before about three in the morning . That is the most nearly silent hour , and if the heathenish curs let us alone we may get away . '' Fortune seemed to favor the two . The moon did not come out , and the promise of a dark night was fulfilled .