one o’clock
The moon gleamed almost brazen , showing the cruel scars , the trenches torn by cloud-bursts , the lines wrought by the long , patient waiting of the earth for the lifting of the wrath of God . Imperishable grief was writ on the land as on a human face . The night wore on , the watches changed , the herd continued restless ; not more than a third of it had bedded down . The third watch was from one o'clock to half-past three in the morning . Simpson and another `` XXX '' man , with two of the Wetmore outfit , made up a double watch , and rode , singing , about the herd , as the long , dreary watch wore away . The cattle 's lowing had taken on a gasping , cracked sound that was more frightful than the maddened bellow of the early evening . Simpson , who was past the age when men live the life of the saddle , felt the hardship keenly .