about midnight
The horses of what Ned called the cavalry also trotted occasionally , but it was well for him that his pony did not seem to know how . Whenever he was asked to go faster , he struck into a rocking canter , which was as easy and about as lazy as a cradle , so that his rider received hardly any shaking , and was able to keep both his seat and his stirrups . Brief halts for rest were made now and then . Bridges were crossed which Ned understood were over small branches of the Blanco River , but they were still in the lowlands when , at about midnight , the little column wheeled out of the road and went on for a hundred yards or more into a magnificent forest , where the moonlight came down among the trees to show how old and large they were . `` Halt ! Dismount ! '' came sharply from Colonel Tassara .