midnight
and by the time they reached the old blockhouse at the north end , the somebody was in plain view , urging his foam-flecked and panting steed to a plunging gallop as he neared the Laramie . The hoofs thundered across the rickety wooden bridge , and the rider was hailed by dozens of shrill and wailing voices as he passed the laundresses ' quarters , where the whole population had turned out to demand information . The adjutant had joined the commanding officer by this time , and several of the guard had come forth , anxious and eager to hear the news . No man in the group could catch the reply of the horseman to the questioners at `` Sudstown , '' but in an instant an Irish wail burst upon the ear , and , just as one coyote will start a whole pack , just as one midnight bray will set in discordant chorus a whole `` corral '' of mules , so did that one wail of mourning call forth an echoing `` keen '' from every Hibernian hovel in all the little settlement , and in an instant the air rang with unearthly lamentations . `` D -- those absurd women ! '' growled the major , fiercely , though his cheek paled at dread of the coming tidings . `` They 'll have all the garrison in hysterics .