midnight
* * * * * That night he watched Ch ` aka when he slipped away from the others and Jason made a careful note of the direction that he took . Of course the slave master would circle about before he concealed himself , but with a little luck Jason would find him . And kill him . He had no special love of midnight assassination , and until landing on this planet had always believed that killing a sleeping man was a cowardly way to terminate another 's existence . But special conditions demand special solutions , and he was no match for the heavily armored man in open combat , therefore the assassin 's knife . Or rather sharpened horn . He managed to doze fitfully until some time after midnight , then slipped silently from under his skin coverings .