About midnight
The journey would knock up our horses , but as we should have no further need of them , that could not be taken into consideration . Nita bore up very well ; indeed she seemed to suffer from fatigue as little us any of us . Sometimes her husband carried her child , and sometimes Ned took charge of it . About midnight a halt was called , on an elevated spot , whence we could command a tolerably clear view on all sides . We required to rest and feed our horses as well as ourselves , though we could not venture to light a fire , which would have betrayed our position to our pursuers . While we rested and ate , we kept a vigilant watch ; for though it was not probable that the Indians would have followed close to our heels , it was just possible that they might have done so , as in consequence of the numerous impediments in our way , a quick-footed man might have gone almost as fast as we did . While I was gnawing away at the leg of the monkey , and looking out at the same time into the darkness below , I saw something move across an open glade .