midnight
For six miles the road descended amidst steep rocks and mighty precipices . The pass was so narrow that we had to march in single file , each horseman on foot and leading his animal . Had the Spaniards caught us there , not a man would have escaped . Slowly and carefully we descended in one long line , until at midnight we reached the rugged bank of the river which rushes through the Mirabe valley . In a hollow on the opposite side lay the village , and behind the mud walls surrounding the cultivated grounds were the Spaniards , little dreaming of our proximity . `` Now , '' exclaimed the colonel softly , `` we have them in our power . We have but to cross the river and fall upon their camp . ''