midnight
The swing men were scattered so far apart there was no chance for conversation amongst us , but every once in a while a song would be started , and as it surged up and down the line , every voice , good , bad , and indifferent , joined in . Singing is supposed to have a soothing effect on cattle , though I will vouch for the fact that none of our Circle Dots stopped that night to listen to our vocal efforts . The herd was traveling so nicely that our foreman hardly noticed the passing hours , but along about midnight the singing ceased , and we were nodding in our saddles and wondering if they in the lead were never going to throw off the trail , when a great wig-wagging occurred in front , and presently we overtook The Rebel , holding the lantern and turning the herd out of the trail . It was then after midnight , and within another half hour we had the cattle bedded down within a few hundred yards of the trail . One-hour guards was the order of the night , and as soon as our wagon and saddle horses came up , we stretched ropes and caught out our night horses . These we either tied to the wagon wheels or picketed near at hand , and then we sought our blankets for a few hours ' sleep . It was half past three in the morning when our guard was called , and before the hour passed , the first signs of day were visible in the east .