about midnight
Happiness ; an honorable and peaceful continuation of the family traditions ; another _ Caldera _ , who , when Uncle Pascal grew old , would continue to work the lands that had been fructified by his ancestors , while a troop of little _ Calderitas _ , increasing in number each year , would play around the nag harnessed to the plow , eyeing with a certain awe their grandpa , his eyes watery from age and his words very concise , as he sat in the sun at the cabin door . Christ ! And how man 's illusions vanish ! ... One Saturday , as Pascualet was coming home from his sweetheart 's house , along one of the paths of the _ huerta _ , about midnight , a dog had bitten him ; a wretched , silent animal that jumped out from behind a sluice ; as the young man crouched to throw a stone at it , the dog bit into his shoulder . His mother , who used to wait for him on the nights when he went courting , burst into wailing when she saw the livid semicircle , with its red stain left by the dog 's teeth , and she bustled about the hut preparing poultices and drinks . The youth laughed at his mother 's fears . `` Quiet , mother , quiet ! ''