midnight
El Constabulario ! _ '' The exultant shout was taken up by other voices as windows were cautiously raised : in a moment the doors were thrown wide and a crowd of natives swarmed about the two riders . The men shrill-voiced , women and children hysterical , they crowded around the pair in a confidence that was pitiful . Frightened beyond a white man 's conception by the midnight visitation of ladrones within a half-mile of their village , cowed , witless , they were reassured merely by the uniforms the two riders wore -- the red-piped uniform of the small , scattered force of five thousand Filipinos , who , ably officered , highly trained , intrepid , have never tasted defeat : have wiped out every murderous band that raised treacherous hand and then , outlawry scotched , have turned the power of their discipline against the scourges of diseases , floods , cattle plagues , typhoons . Unsung , unwept , they have carried on , their motto Service and their goal Success . Terry , patient , reassuring , lingered till he had overcome their immediate fears , left them content with their faith in the protection he promised them . Hurrying on , Terry and his Sergeant shortly came to Ledesma 's well kept plantation , and Terry turned his pony over to the Sergeant and approached the big bamboo house .