midnight
`` And I 'll clear out now , as I would have done if nothing had happened . '' He said no more of his intention of departure , but when night had come he fastened the door of the little shanty , in which were still some of the rude belongings of his camping outfit , with the grim determination that it should not soon be opened again . How long the padlock should beat the summons of the wind on the resounding battens he did not dream ! It was close on midnight when he climbed the steep interior slope of the levee and stood for a moment gazing cautiously about him . The rowboat lay close by , for one might embark from the summit of the levee . It was a cloudy night , without a star . A mist clung to the face of the waters on the Arkansas side , but on the hither shore the atmosphere was clear , for he could see at a considerable distance up the river the fire of a `` levee-watch , '' the stage of the water being so menacing that a guard must needs be on duty throughout the night .