ten o'clock
And as he looked he saw , too , earthworks and the signs that many men were present . He lay long among the bushes until the night thickened and darkened and he resolved to inspect the earthworks thoroughly . No very strict watch seemed to be kept , and , in truth , it did not seem to be needed here so near to Washington , and so far away from the Southern army . Before ten o'clock everything settled into quiet , and he cautiously climbed a great beech which was in full and deep foliage . The boughs were so many and the leaves so dense that one standing directly under him could not have seen him . But he went up as far as he could go , and , crouched there , made a comprehensive survey . It was a fine moonlight night and he saw the earthworks stretching for a long distance , thorough and impregnable to anything except a great army .