midnight
Blake bade him hold his peace . If harm had come to that stage , said he , it was not on the eastward , but the westward run , not at the hands of Apaches , but of outlaws , and Sancho went back looking blacker than night and saying in the seclusion of the corral , to beetle-browed _ hermano mio _ and his dusky wife , things that even in Spanish sounded ill and would not be publishable in English . Both officers by this time felt that there was mischief abroad . It was decided between them that if by midnight the stage did not arrive , Loring , with the precious packet in one saddle-bag and the court proceedings in the other , should take eight men as escort and gallop for the west until he reached the platoon sent forward at dawn . From that point the danger would be less , and with either the same or a smaller number of fresh riders he could push on for Yuma , sending all the others back to join Blake , who meantime , with what little force he had , would scout eastward for news of the stage . But that plan was destined never to be carried out . The long day came to an end .