midnight
To his delight he discovered that she was expected on the following morning , and during the day he and Thad found their way to the identical spot where the Campertown would be apt to lay up when releasing her cargo and taking on another . They spent the better part of the day in seeing the city , now in holiday attire , for it was the last of the Mardi Gras festivities , as Lent was close at hand . That night was a banner one to the two lads , who had never been in a great city before , and especially at a time when the whole population seemed to have given itself up to gaiety . They spent the time upon the streets until past midnight , watching the floats go by in gorgeous procession , and mixing up with the festive maskers bent upon having all the fun possible , since tomorrow they must begin to mourn . Thoroughly tired out , our boys finally said good-by to these riotous sounds and hied away to the quiet house where they had a room . Once abed there was no need on this night to toss and turn , for they hardly hit the pillow before they lost all track of time and were sound asleep . Another dawn found them up and eager to get down to the river .