midnight
She was very tender towards Grey 's condition , and the sight gave me no jealousy , for in that tense hour all things were forgotten but life and death . Donaldson , at Ringan 's bidding , saw to the feeding of the horses as if he were in his own stable on the Rappahannock . It takes all sorts of men to make a world , but I thought at the time that for this business the steel nerves of the Borderer were worth many quicker brains and more alert spirits . The hours marched sombrely towards midnight , while we stayed every man by his post . I asked Shalah if the enemy had gone , and he shook his head . He had the sense of a wild animal to detect danger in the forest when the eye and ear gave no proof . He stood like a stag , sniffing the night air , and peering with his deep eyes into the gloom .