midnight
I lifted my head to listen for the slightest sound of life , and strained my eyes to detect the distant glimmer of a light in any direction . Nothing rewarded the effort . Yet surely along here on this long-settled west bank of the Mississippi I could not be far removed from those of my race , for I knew that all along this river shore were cultivated plantations and little frontier towns irregularly served by passing steamboats . We had not been far to the northward of St. Louis at midnight , and Thockmorton confidently expected to tie up the _ Warrior _ at the wharf before that city early the next morning . So , surely , somewhere near at hand , concealed amid the gloom , would be discovered the habitations of men -- either the pretentious mansion of some prosperous planter , or the humble huts of his black slaves . Could I attain to either one I would be certain of welcome , for hospitality without questioning was the code of the frontier . The night air increased in chilliness as the hours approached dawn , and I shivered in my wet clothes , although this only served to arouse me into immediate action .