midnight
There was spare , short , bleached grass for the horses , but no wood for a fire . This night there was question and reply , conjecture , doubt , opinion , and conviction expressed by the men of the party . But the Indian , who alone could have told where they were , where they were going , what chance they had to escape , maintained his stoical silence . Gale took the early watch , Ladd the midnight one , and Lash that of the morning . The day broke rosy , glorious , cold as ice . Action was necessary to make useful benumbed hands and feet . Mercedes was fed while yet wrapped in blankets .