midnight
As to this , however , he had very strong doubts , having come to distrust thoroughly every report given by the Spaniards . He knew that they were as ready , under the influence of fear , to exaggerate the force of an enemy as they were , at other times , to magnify their own numbers . Sir Arthur must , he thought , be far better informed than he himself could be ; for his men , being Portuguese , were viewed with doubt and suspicion by the Spanish peasantry , who would probably take a pleasure in misleading them altogether . The short stay in the mountains had braced up the men and , with only a short halt , they made a forty-mile march to the Alberche by midnight . Scarcely had they lit their fires , when an Hussar officer and some troopers rode up . They halted a hundred yards away , and the officer shouted in English : `` What corps is this ? '' Terence at once left the fire , and advanced towards them .