midnight
He rose , stretching his arms above his head . `` I 've about talked all the wind out of me , '' he said . `` Think I 'll be moving along . It 's pretty near midnight . '' But when Magnus 's guests turned their attention to the matter of returning to their different ranches , they abruptly realised that the downpour had doubled and trebled in its volume since earlier in the evening . The fields and roads were veritable seas of viscid mud , the night absolutely black-dark ; assuredly not a night in which to venture out . Magnus insisted that the three ranchers should put up at Los Muertos .