nearly midnight
I stood watching and listening . It was a calm , sweet April night ; there were no sounds but a few low notes of a nightingale , and nothing moved but the white clouds near the moon and a brown owl that flitted over the hedge . It made me think of the summer nights long ago , when I used to lie beside my mother in the green pleasant meadow at Farmer Grey 's . 26 How it Ended It must have been nearly midnight when I heard at a great distance the sound of a horse 's feet . Sometimes the sound died away , then it grew clearer again and nearer . The road to Earlshall led through woods that belonged to the earl ; the sound came in that direction , and I hoped it might be some one coming in search of us . As the sound came nearer and nearer I was almost sure I could distinguish Ginger 's step ; a little nearer still , and I could tell she was in the dog-cart .