midnight
One April night in that year he and his grandfather , the pair of them with a collie , lay out on the fell-side together . Lambing is late in Redesdale , the spring comes late ; April is often a month of snow . They had a fire and their cloaks ; the ground was dry , and they lay upon it under a clear sky strewn with stars . At midnight George King , the grandfather , was asleep , but Andrew was broad awake . He heard the flock -LRB- which he could not see -RRB- sweep by him like a storm , the bell-wether leading , and as they went up the hill the wind began to blow , a long , steady , following blast . The collie on his feet , ears set flat on his head , shuddering with excitement , whined for orders . Andrew , after waking with difficulty his grandfather , was told to go up and head them off .