midnight
Marcy thought he had good reason to feel light-hearted , for was he not getting the better of the secret enemies of whom he and his mother had stood so much in fear ? Julius would carry no more reports to Hanson ; Hanson himself would soon disappear from their sight ; Captain Beardsley would be compelled to stop blockade running ; and Colonel Shelby and his friends would have to act with the greatest caution in order to escape the vengeance of the Union men who held secret meetings somewhere in the woods . That was good news enough for one night , and Marcy was sorry that he was obliged to keep it from his mother . It was long after midnight when the boys went upstairs , and there they passed another half hour in ripping up one of Marcy 's bed quilts to get at the flags that had been stitched into it . `` I hope there are no more privateers on the coast , '' said Marcy , as he drew one of the flags from its hiding place . `` So do I , '' replied Jack , `` for if we should happen to run foul of one of them , my Confederate colors would be no protection whatever . The boarding officer would very naturally inquire : ` What are you doing out here so near the blockading fleet ? '