midnight
That night the eldest brother pitched camp on a hillock not far from the herd and well out of way of the mosquitos . To make the little girl 's safety certain , he put her blankets at the center of a square that was roped in by lariats , the stakes being black willows cut from a clump on the river bank . She lay down with the dogs beside her , but , unused to the strangeness of her bed , slept little . The eldest brother stayed with the herd , so she passed the long hours before midnight looking up at the stars and thinking . She could hear the yelping of some coyotes that were cautiously reconnoitering from a neighboring bluff . When they came near , the dogs sprang up and challenged them , and soon their cries died away as they slunk down a deep coulée . The dogs quieting again , she caught the sound of faint movements and calls in the grass .