midnight
I dared not take the whole of my command along with me without permission from head-quarters . The absence of the corps without leave would certainly be noticed -- even were it but for a few hours -- and with the smaller party I intended to take , caution would be requisite . Should we move along the road before it was deserted , some swift messenger might carry the tidings _ en avant _ , and get us into trouble . I designed to start at the earliest hour of darkness -- so that I might not alarm the hacienda by a midnight visit . An hour and a half of constant riding would bring me to its gate . At the last moment of twilight we leaped into our saddles ; and rode silently into the chapparal that skirted the camp . After filing for some distance through a narrow path , we debouched upon the up-river road -- the same that conducted to the rancheria .