midnight
And groups of cattle , starting at the slightest sound , tossed their horns in defiance , and browsed along the mosquit , in many places so luxuriant as well-nigh to conceal their forms . The day had been unusually warm for January , and the sun beamed down with a sickening intensity which made the blood tingle in the veins . Toward noon the sky assumed a dull , leaden cast , and light flakes of cloud , like harbingers of evil , scudded ominously overhead . The sun passed the zenith , and a low sighing breeze swept moaningly across the wide waste , even as the wail of lost spirits floats out on the midnight air , and then is hushed forever . The cattle that stood leisurely cropping about , and now and then moving a few paces , lifted their heads , snuffed the air , and , with a simultaneous lowing , started at full speed to the timbered tracts , where they were wont to resort for shelter from the winds of winter . On , on they rushed , till in the distance one might fancy them a quantity of beetles , or other insects , dotting the surface before them . Soon not a vestige remained of the flying herd , and happy it was for them they made good their retreat , and gained a place of refuge ere the `` norther '' burst in all its keenness on the unprotected plain .