midnight
`` All right , I will , '' Larry observed ; and later on when making preparations for sleeping he was unusually careful to tuck himself well in , and draw down the curtains close to him , fastening them securely with the grummets that were meant to clutch the round-headed screws along the side . Phil himself was secretly wishing a hungry cat might come sneaking along , to climb up in the tree , and tackle their meat ; for he wanted to have the satisfaction of saying he had shot a Florida bobcat ; and in protecting their stores he could find plenty of excuses for making war on such a beast . So he arranged things when laying down , in order to allow of a peep at any time he woke up . As long as the moon remained above the horizon , which would be until after midnight , he could plainly see that dark object swinging from the limb of the tree above . None of them dreamed of the various things that were fated to come to pass ere the journey 's end was reached . Could stout hearted Phil have had a fleeting vision of what lay before them , even he might have hesitated about going on . But he fully believed that he was carrying an olive branch of peace that could not fail to subdue the truculent nature of the dreaded McGee .