midnight
`` Rest on thy rock , Andromeda ! '' I sadly murmured , then , leaping into the saddle , galloped away after my retreating comrades , already half a mile away down in the shadowy mountain pass . Before it had been long dark , we had crossed the range and into the department of Minas . Nothing happened till towards midnight , when our horses began to be greatly distressed . My companions hoped to reach before morning an _ estancia _ , still many leagues distant , where they were known and would be allowed to lie in concealment for a few days till the storm blew over ; for usually shortly after an outbreak has been put down an _ indulto _ , or proclamation of pardon , is issued , after which it is safe for all those who have taken arms against the constituted government to return to their homes . For the time we were , of course , outlaws , and liable to have our throats cut at any moment . Our poor horses at last became incapable even of a trot , and , dismounting , we walked on , leading them by the bridles .