midday
The flight along the icy slope had lasted half an hour , on foot it would have taken them half a day at least to traverse it . So they all thanked God that they had come off with a whole skin . And it was not long before they had to thank God for much more than that . At midday they were rejoined by their fellow travelers who had come through the valley , and fearful tales they had to tell of the dangers which they had encountered . Janko , to whom a mounted messenger had been sent on beforehand to negotiate with the robbers , had granted the travelers a free passage thorough the defile , and the Polish nobleman paid for all those who accompanied him , students included , the ransom demanded . But in the meantime Hafran 's robbers -LRB- it was these whom Simplex had scared away with his trumpet from the Devil 's Castle -RRB- fell upon the Keszmár merchants who were marching far behind in the rear , cut down the drivers , tortured the merchants , and carried off the mules and pack-horses . But while they were thus making free with the booty , the twelve soldiers , armed with their new-fangled muskets which could be fired off even in rainy weather , fell upon the robbers , who could not shoot because of the wet .