midnight
Lieutenant Wingate put out the fire and sat down to watch , rifle in hand . Grace got up an hour later and , peering from her tent , saw Hippy sitting with his back against a rock . At first she thought he was asleep ; then , when she saw him take off his hat and smooth back his hair , she knew that she was mistaken . It was long past midnight when Grace again roused herself and got up with a feeling that all was not well . A quick survey of the camp from her tent revealed nothing disturbing . Hippy was in the same position in which she had seen him some hours before and not a sound was heard from the ponies ' direction . Picking up her rifle , and strapping on her revolver , Grace stepped over to Hippy and peered down into his face .