midnight
It was the proceeds of something like one hundred and fifty beeves , in a small bag along of some old clothes . There was n't a cent of it mine , still I was supposed to look after it . `` The driver answered to the name of South-Paw , drove six horses , and we had a jolly crowd on top . Near midnight we were swinging along , and as we rounded a turn in the road , we noticed a flickering light ahead some distance which looked like the embers of a camp-fire . As we came nearly opposite the light , the leaders shied at some object in the road in front of them . South-Paw uncurled his whip , and was in the act of pouring the leather into them , when that light was uncovered as big as the head-light of an engine . An empty five-gallon oil-can had been cut in half and used as a reflector , throwing full light into the road sufficient to cover the entire coach .