midnight
For while Max Hastings might be said to be a resolute lad , about as fearless as the ordinary boy of his years , perhaps more so , still he did not yearn for excitement . There was Steve now , who was quite another proposition ; he just dearly loved a racket , and was never so happy as when he felt that there was a fight of some sort in prospect , he cared very little what its nature . How much longer could he stand it ? And was midnight far past ? Max would have given something for a chance to glance at the little nickel watch he carried ; but the flash of a lighted match might come just at a time to ruin his carefully laid plans , and he declined to take the risk . There was no striking clock in a church tower to tell him of the night , such as he was accustomed to at home ; and Max was hardly woodsman enough to be able to read the stars and know by that means . The thought came to him with great force , however , as he lay there looking up at the few stars he could see through the leafy canopy overhead ; and Max determined that henceforth he would place himself in position to know just when certain bright stars might be expected to rise above the eastern horizon each succeeding night or others set in the west .