midnight
Repose , however , was not for all , inasmuch as Thurstane had reorganized his system of guard duty , and seven of the party had to stand sentry . It was Coronado 's _ tour _ ; he had chosen to take his watch at the start ; there would be three nights on this stretch , and the first would be the easiest . He was tired , for he had been fourteen hours in the saddle , although the distance covered was only forty miles . But much as he craved rest , he kept awake until midnight , now walking up and down , and now smoking his eternal cigarito . There was a vast deal to remember , to plan , to hope for , to dread , and to hate . Once he sat down beside the unconscious Thurstane , and meditated shooting him through the head as he lay , and so making an end of that obstacle . But he immediately put this idea aside as a frenzy , generated by the fever of fatigue and sleeplessness .