midnight
`` You are a mean little wind . Not half as big as the September zephyrs . Do your worst , you ca n't scare me , '' she cried , tucking her head down against its biting breath . Upon the main trail the snow that had fallen after midnight deepened in the lower places as the wind whirled it from the prairie swells . It was not smooth traveling , although the direction of the trail was clear enough at first . Virginia 's heart bounded hopefully as Juno covered mile after mile with that persistent , steady canter that means everything good for a long ride . But the open plains were bitterly cold and the wind grew fiercer as the hours passed .