midnight
How long ago did they pass this way ? '' `` Jest at daylight . '' `` That 's another lie , '' said Bob to himself . `` They did n't desert until after midnight , and they could n't have travelled between fifteen and twenty miles in less than five hours on foot . An infantryman might do it on a pinch , but a trooper could n't . '' `` You 'll have to hurry up if you want to ketch 'em , '' continued the squatter , who seemed to grow nervous when he saw how deliberately the troopers went about their preparations for dinner . `` They was a-lumberin ' along right peart . ''