Midnight
But if I 'm to ride with the colonel , he will have to provide me with another . '' Throughout the evening we rode silently side by side , while all around us was the awful stillness of a dead world . The sun went down , and presently the stars gleamed above us , throwing a ghostly light over the sea of sand . Midnight found us still riding , and another hour passed before Castro drew rein at the broken track leading from Tacna to Arica . Throwing the reins over his horse 's neck , and jumping down , he examined the ground carefully , reading it as skilfully as the student reads a printed book . To and fro he went , casting off here and there like a hunting-dog , till he was satisfied . Then he returned to me , saying , `` Carts have gone by hours since , and the infantry quite recently , but I see no signs of cavalry . ''