midnight
The old colonel was fast aging , in trying to lead a quiet life in the vicinity of `` dose d ----- d cavalry regruits , '' and he said he `` would order them all shot if they did n't behave . '' Benton Barracks was the greatest place for the breeding of rats that I ever saw . In every house there were millions of them , and at night they were out in full force . One night our crowd of recruits , about forty in number , had been down to St. Louis on a painting expedition , and it was midnight when camp was reached . Every recruit had a revolver , and it was decided that if the rats insulted us , as they had often done before , we would shoot them . It was a beautiful moonlight night , as still as death , and we could almost hear the snoring of the excitable colonel in his house across the parade ground . As we came near our barrack , a few thousand rats crossed our path , and I drew my revolver and fired at a large one that seemed unusually impudent , and the rest of the crowd opened fire , and there was a battle in no time .