a few hours after midnight
`` That 's it , liftinint . That 's th ' best thing to do . We need n't reach their camp until after midnight , an ' we might 's well spend th ' time misleadin ' em . '' `` Yes , and it 'll be better to reach them a few hours after midnight , too , '' added Cooler ; `` they sleep soundest then . '' `` Then we will go on as we began for some time longer , '' I replied , and the soldiers again moved at a brisk canter over the northern trail . An hour passed , and a halt was made in a grassy nook , where the horses were turned out to graze until dusk . Our route was then retraced to the fork and the march resumed over the southern branch .