ten o'clock
`` Perhaps so , colonel , but do be careful . '' `` I will . I have no desire to get into any jail , and I am sure that I like life too well to risk it needlessly . '' It was after ten o'clock , a late hour in those days , before the farmer would listen to any suggestion of retiring for the night . He wanted Allen to sleep in the house -- the others were to occupy the hay loft -- but Allen declared that he would share the loft with his friends , and that no man should say that he had accepted better treatment than his followers . As it was impossible for all to stay in the house , the farmer gave way and allowed Allen to share the hay loft . It was a happy party that climbed up the stairs into the place , where the sweet odor of the hay created a desire for sleep .