midnight
When the journey to the farm-house was made , the tough Indian pony between the shafts was helped in the hauling by a plow team from the barn . The _ travee _ was untied from the wagon at the stable , and the three big brothers helped the Indians to drag it into a roomy stall , the little girl looking on all the while sympathetically . Then her mother , the biggest brother , and Eagle Eye poulticed the throbbing chest , put compresses on the silky neck , and poured one hot drink after another down the reluctant throat of the blue mare . They worked until midnight . But when the next day broke , chill and drizzily , the horse seemed worse instead of better , and the Indians , who had slept with their guns on their arms at the heads of their saddled ponies , prepared to go . They seemed so anxious to set off that the big brothers were suspicious that they had stolen the animal and were expecting pursuit . The fact that she had no saddle-marks on her mottled back , and that they had cumbered themselves with a wagon , bore out the belief .