Midnight
halloo ! '' into the still air . The later it was and the stormier it was , the more vigor he put into the note , and it was a drowsy postmaster indeed who did not start from his bench by the fire at the sound of that ringing halloo . Thus the old stage-coach , in Life Lane 's time , was generally called `` The Midnight Cry , '' and not such a bad name either , whether the term was derisively applied because the stage was always late ; or whether Life 's `` Yo ho ! '' had caught the popular fancy . There was a pretty girl in Pleasant River -LRB- and , alas ! another in Bonny Eagle -RRB- who went to bed every night with the chickens , but stayed awake till she heard first the rumble of heavy wheels on a bridge , then a faint , bell-like tone that might have come out of the mouth of a silver horn ; whereupon she blushed as if it were an offer of marriage , and turned over and went to sleep .