midnight
We got to walking together and riding together at night , and we were soon rather intimate ; but for a long time he never so much as spoke the girl 's name . Indeed , he kept away from the Bluegrass for nearly two months ; but when he did go he stayed a fortnight . This time he came for me as soon as he got back to the Gap . It was just before midnight , and we went as usual back of Imboden Hill , through moon-dappled beeches , and Grayson turned off into the woods where there was no path , both of us silent . We rode through tremulous , shining leaves -- Grayson 's horse choosing a way for himself -- and , threshing through a patch of high , strong weeds , we circled past an amphitheatre of deadened trees whose crooked arms were tossed out into the moonlight , and halted on the spur . The moon was poised over Morris 's farm ; South Fork was shining under us like a loop of gold , the mountains lay about in tranquil heaps , and the moon-mist rose luminous between them . There Grayson turned to me with an eager light in his eyes that I had never seen before .