midnight before
I have not heard about you since Tom left , except that he wrote me a short letter from Bridger saying that you had passed the winter up among the mountains by the Big Wind River . That you had had troubles with the Indians , and had n't been able to do much trapping or looking for gold . '' `` Well , we will tell it between us , '' Harry said , `` for it is a long yarn . '' It was , indeed , past midnight before the story was all told . Long before it was finished the two Indians had taken up their rugs and gone up to their room , and although the other three had taken by turns to tell the tale of their adventures , they were all hoarse with speaking by the time they got through . Pete had often stopped them to ask question at various points where the narrators had been inclined to cut the story short . `` That beats all , '' he said , when they brought it to an end .