midnight
Looks curious to me , Frances -- sure does ! '' She might have told him right then about Ratty M'Gill and the man Pete ; but Frances was not an impulsive girl . She studied about things , as the colloquialism has it . And she knew very well that the mere fact that Ratty and the stranger were friends would not disprove Pratt 's connection with the midnight marauder . Pete might have had an aid inside , as well as outside , the _ hacienda _ . So Frances said nothing more to the old ranchman , and nothing at all to Pratt about that which troubled her . They spoke of inconsequential things on the veranda , where Ming served cool drinks ; and then the Amarillo young man rode away .