midnight
Here he felt absolutely secure , and , making his supper of dried venison , he lay down under the boughs of the oak , with one blanket beneath him and another above him and was soon in a deep and dreamless sleep . He awoke about midnight to find a gorgeous parade of the moon and all the stars , and he lay for a while watching them through the leaves of the oak . Powerful are nature and habit , and Henry 's life was in accordance with both . Lying alone at midnight on that little knoll in the midst of a great marsh in the country of wary and cruel enemies , he was thankful that it had been given to him to be there , and that his lot had been cast among the conditions that surrounded him . He heard a slight noise to the left of him , but he knew that it was only another hungry bear stealing about . There was a light splash in the pool at the foot of the knoll , but it was only a large fish leaping up and making a noise as it fell back . Far to the south something gleamed fitfully among the trees , but it was only marsh fire .