midnight
`` Now , you know on such occasions , above all others , one does not want the whole country at one 's heels , so we tried our best to shake them . We postponed our trip until the second day ; the women in the meantime gettin ' our grub cooked . We then took the bells off our dog collars and packed our sleds behind closed doors ; but it was no go . In spite of all our precautions three dog-teams followed our trail as we slipped stealthily out of camp at midnight . The moon shone brightly and the snow was not too deep . The boys kept at a respectful distance behind us , and we mushed along between low hills mostly up the streams on the ice . `` To make my story shorter , we staked what we wanted of the creek , and let the other fellows in on what was left .