midnight
A deadening hand seemed to cover the night . The silence roused Kenkenes and he realized the solemnity of the earth , the vastness of the sky and the majesty of the solitude . Mysteriously affected , he withdrew within himself and humbly acknowledged the One God . At midnight a chill struck the breeze and he drew his mantle about him while he rode . The wind freshened and a heated counter-current from the desert met it and they whirled away , rustling through the grassy country . The Arab reduced his gallop so suddenly that Kenkenes was jolted . The small peaked ears of the horse went up and he showed a disposition to move sidewise into the meadow growth beside the way .