midnight
To the Frenchmen he , of course , explained matters in their own tongue , and found them equally as ready as their Island brethren . The moon , what there was of it , was fairly low in the heavens , and the long shadows Max counted upon so largely in his plans were much in evidence . Silence was another factor of importance , and the feet of all the men were swathed in long strips of cloth -- their puttees in the case of the British soldiers , and strips from their clothing in the case of the Frenchmen . The band was divided into three groups , and the orders were that on arriving at the edge of the cutting all were to remain motionless in hiding until the guards were changed at midnight . Then three men from each band were to creep up close to one of the three sentries marked down for attack , and wait for an opportunity to seize and kill or capture him without raising an alarm . The latter point Max insisted upon as of the utmost importance . The groups of three might spend two hours , even three hours , he told them , so long as they performed their task without making a noise that would attract the attention of the sentries on either side .