midnight
As it was getting late , we set about putting up our tent for the night , when suddenly our ass , who had been quietly grazing near us , began to bray furiously , erected his ears , kicking right and left , and , plunging into the bamboos , disappeared . This made us very uneasy . I could not submit to lose the useful animal ; and , moreover , I was afraid his agitation announced the approach of some wild beast . The dogs and I sought for any trace of it in vain ; I therefore , to guard against any danger , made a large fire before our tent , which I continued to watch till midnight , when , all being still , I crept into the tent , to my bed of moss , and slept undisturbed till morning . In the morning we thanked God for our health and safety , and then began to lament our poor donkey , which , I hoped , might have been attracted by the light of our fire , and have returned ; but we saw nothing of him , and we decided that his services were so indispensable , that I should go , with one of my sons , and the two dogs , in search of him , and cross the thickets of bamboo . I chose to take Jack with me , to his great satisfaction , for Fritz and Ernest formed a better guard for their mother in a strange place . We set out , well armed , with bags of provisions on our back , and after an hour 's fruitless search among the canes , We emerged beyond them , in an extensive plain on the borders of the great bay .