midnight
The thing took maybe five minutes -- not more ; but I scrambled to my feet a man again . Indeed I was a better man than when I started , for this Indian wizardry had given me an odd lightness of head and heart . When we took up the running , my body , instead of a leaden clog , seemed to be a thing of air and feathers . It was now hard on midnight , and the moon was high in the heavens . We bore somewhat to the right , and I judged that our circuit was completed , and that the time had come to steal in front of the Indian route . The forest thinned , and we traversed a marshy piece , of country with many single great trees . Often Shalah would halt for a second , strain his ears , and sniff the light wind like a dog .