ten o'clock
`` No , no indeed , little daughter ! '' he replied . `` They were brave men , and staunch patriots , and had no intention to surrender so long as they could possibly hold out ; but fearing ammunition might give out , their supply of provisions too , they resolved to send word to General Schuyler , who was then at Stillwater , asking for aid from him in their sore extremity . `` Of course it would be a hazardous attempt , but Colonel Willett offered to be the messenger , and one stormy night he and Lieutenant Stockwell left the fort at ten o'clock by the sally-port , each armed with a spear , and crept along the morass on hands and knees , to the river , which they crossed upon a log . Their way lay through a tangled wood and they soon lost it . The bark of a dog presently warned them that they were near an Indian camp , and fearing to either advance or retreat they stood still there for several hours . `` But at length the dawn of day showed them where they were , so that they were able to find the right road and pursue their way .