nine o'clock
Well , in another month we shall have finished with all this work , and be making for the frontier again . Sha n't I be glad when we catch sight of the first red-coats ! '' In the middle of the night the boys were roused by a general bustle , and found that a messenger had just arrived , saying that the expedition had been successful , that a portion of the enemy had been cut off , their rear-guard destroyed , and that the whole band would be up soon after daylight . The village was astir early , but it was not until nine o'clock that the guerilla band arrived . The boys saw at a glance that they were stronger in numbers than when they started , and that with them were some twenty or thirty baggage animals . The women flocked out to meet them with shrill cries of welcome . The booty taken was not of any great value in money , but was more valuable than gold to the guerillas .