midnight
All was as silent as the grave . They remained under the rock the best part of an hour , allowing their trusty animals to get back their wind and strength . During this time Wumble walked back a short distance and Tom climbed up to the top of the rock , but neither made any discovery of importance . It was a little after midnight when they moved forward again . Their pace was now little better than a walk , for the trail was a dangerous one , and in many spots they had to leap down and lead their horses . Once they came to a gully six to eight feet wide , without a bridge , and it took a good deal of urging to get Tom 's horse to make the leap across . `` If a fellow should tumble in there where would he go to ? ''