midnight
To the amazement of his colleagues , Aumerle , on whom they had counted as staunch and loyal , doffed his bonnet with a laugh , and , spurring forward , was received by the enemy as an expected ally . There could be no doubt now that he had betrayed his too trusting friends . Yet even then , the little band held the bridge till midnight . But by midnight all hope was over . There was left only one alternative -- flight or death . The loyal six set spurs to their horses ; and Surrey 's steed being fleetest , he soon outdistanced the others . All that night Surrey rode at a breathless gallop , and when morning broke he was dashing past Osney Abbey into the gates of Oxford .