midnight
That ended the dance , but not the excitement . Women and girls were seeking their wraps even before the corporal came , and now went twittering homeward , each on the arm of her escort , except in the case of those allied forces , the wives of certain seniors , who long had lived , moved , and ruled in the regiment , and now in eager yet guarded tones were discussing the events of the hour gone by . With these went Mrs. Foster , her husband having joined the searching party , and her sleigh , instead of returning , being still missing and unaccounted for . Not yet midnight , and in the space of less than one hour all Fort Cushing had been stirred by the news . A most popular and prominent young officer had been placed in close arrest . A prominent , if not most popular , sergeant , had been pummelled . An alarming scene of some kind had occurred at the quarters of Captain Sumter .