midnight
Lankford melted away in the darkness as he rode back up the gorge , and the troop went on at a good pace across a country , half field , half forest . They came to a road which was smooth and hard , and increased their speed . They soon reached a region which several of their horsemen knew , and , as the night lightened a little , they rode fast toward the Potomac . Harry looked at his watch and saw that it was not much past midnight . They would have ample opportunity for observation before morning . A half hour later they discerned dim lights ahead and they knew that the Potomac could not be far away . They drew to one side in a bit of forest , and Sherburne again detached himself , Harry and eight others from the troop , which he left as before under the command of Marlowe .